


My Place

by SkylaDoragono



Category: Bleach, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Afterlife, Alternate Universe, Angst, Brainwashing, Crossover, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-22
Updated: 2010-11-01
Packaged: 2017-10-07 21:31:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 57,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylaDoragono/pseuds/SkylaDoragono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the final confrontation and the freeing of Lorelei, the scion and his replica disappeared from the planet of Auldrant. One returned, but the other was lost in the stream of souls that surround the worlds. Where he would go and what he would become would forever alter who he was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue and Chapter One

PROLOGUE

"Because, I made a promise."

Tear felt her heart leap up into her chest as the redheaded man before her said those words; those words she had been longing to hear again since everything ended two years ago. She started toward him, hesitating only a moment, before running toward him, tears starting to fall from her eyes. He was back... he was really back!

She was about to throw herself at him, sobbing and pounding against him and demanding to know why he took so long to come back. Before she could reach him, he caught her, holding onto her shoulders. Tear looked up, confused... before realizing that his eyes and hair were darker than she remembered...

"I'm sorry, Grants," he continued. "I don't know where Luke is."

  
CHAPTER ONE

A faint beeping with the occasional soft clack was the only sound that could be heard in the large laboratory. The only light came from a massive, multi-screened monitor that extended all the way up to the ceiling and took up most of one of the walls, and the only occupant was one pink haired, human-like individual, gloved finger tapping against the keyboard before him as he watched in some mockery of patience. Of his many tasks in his master's service, the analysis and monitoring of souls that could be taken in for his master's army had to be the most tedious. He would have much rather been dissecting something elsewhere in his lab – he certainly had many other, much more rewarding tasks to accomplish that would not jeopardize his goal of rejoining the Espada.

The glasses of the remnants of his bone mask flashed as he adjusted them, before he moved to turn away, bored. He was hoping he would be able to finish something much more rewarding before he was summoned by his master; but no sooner had the thought come to his genius mind did the screen suddenly flare to life and warning sirens started to blare. Were he anyone else the sudden interruption of his thoughts would have been startling, but instead he merely turned around, curious as to what could have caused the computer to suddenly spring to life like that. His fingers flew over the keyboard, making the machine zero in on the source of the disturbance, wondering what it could have been... a Vasto Lorde that had not already been inducted into their service or killed, perhaps?

The answer he received, however, was enough for him to stop cold, staring in shock.

"This is impossible..." he murmured to himself, waiting for the computer to correct itself. Still, the computer continued to display the strange anomaly, almost like it was mocking him and his intelligence. He sat back as he watched the computer tracking the massive beam of golden light that had set off the warning sirens. It was a spirit to be sure; one clearly lost from the way it was ducking and weaving unsteadily...

...and it was _human._

Threading his fingers together, he paused, trying to think of what he should do. If he reported this to his master... well, it was doubtful he would be believed. Even if he did believe him, his master would bring this anomaly to new life... and then what? It would just be like every other arrancar and useless to him.

No... this was something he needed to capture himself.

Before long, he had the data for the human soul inputted into a handheld computer, allowing him to track the anomaly as it made its way haphazardly through the wastes of Hueco Mundo. By the time he had left the palace of Las Noches, he had already transformed, knowing that his resurrección would be necessary to capture the errant soul.

It took him far longer than he cared to admit to find it, and a great deal of effort to keep up with the damn thing, leaving him to sonído repeatedly just to keep it in his sights. He knew it had to have sensed him by now, even if it was just human, so why was it still running? Did it determine him to be a threat so quickly? Such a pity; he had not even done anything yet.

Finally the thing stopped, allowing him to catch up to it and gaze upon it in the awe that only a scientist could. It was brilliant; a burning flame that had a life and consciousness of its own, unlike any human soul he had ever encountered in his existence. After a moment, he realized it was not just a flame, but had a distinct, human-like shape; the reiatsu, the shape, what the computer was telling him... it was a distinctly human soul, but at the same time, something so beyond human.

Oh, he could not _wait_ to study it...

A faint hum, like a bird's song, came from the creature, and it took him a moment to realize that it was attempting to speak to him. The hum changed in pitch, the sounds changing as well, and he waited patiently for the soul to settle on a language he could understand.

_Who are you?_

...and there it was. He cocked his head curiously, unaware of a human anything, soul or living, that could communicate directly to an individual's mind; yet another fascinating aspect of the creature.

"Szayel Aporro Grantz, lead scientist of Las Noches," he introduced himself, folding his arms casually before him as the wings of his resurrección form quivered, the only sign of his anxious anticipation to get his hands on the creature. "And to whom do I have the honor of speaking to?"

The creature did not answer; instead it reared up, and Szayel got the distinct impression that the soul was trying to peer into his own, as if to see what his intentions were. It would not succeed of course; it was merely a lost soul, while he was a brilliant scientist... but no sooner did the thought enter his head did a vision enter as well; one of a redheaded young arrancar with a mask he did not recognize. He was giving him a brilliant smile, calling him by name with respect – much like his fracción always did – before the vision faded from Szayel's mind, leaving him face to face with a flaming human soul that seemed to be burning brighter with rage.

_I will not permit this future to come to pass._

Szayel did not even get a moment to question what that was supposed to mean when the flaming soul struck out at him. He was able to use his sonído to avoid the attack of course... barely; it took his brain a moment to register the feeling of one of his wings being sheered clean off, because the burning soul had cauterized it on contact. Unfortunately he did not have the time to regenerate, as the soul was soaring around for another pass, and with its speed, he would not have the time to dodge.

"Tch... how irritating..." he grumbled to himself, one of the buds dangling from his wings expanding and elongating until it split into several long tendrils. They reached out for the burning soul, and though it managed to sear through one of them, it could not avoid them all. Szayel stumbled as the tendrils captured the human, holding onto it tightly as it struggled violently, even as he attempted to drain its energy into the bud. Eventually it slowed, and the scientist smirked, already well aware of the outcome.

"Now, now, if we had just talked like civil beings, you would have—"

Szayel cut himself off, realizing quickly that something was going wrong. His wings began to droop, feeling heavy even as the creature stopped struggling against him. It felt like fire was coursing through his veins, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. No... somehow, this... _thing_ was draining his energy instead! How... how could it do this? It was just a human soul!

Suddenly, he felt something stirring within the back of his mind; another consciousness, coming from the flames that he held in his grasp. He could just barely sense it, though... it was almost as if it was a part of the thing that was draining him now. However, this consciousness did not seem too keen on the thought, as a new voice filled his mind.

_Lorelei, what...? Stop it!_

The draining feeling suddenly stopped, and the bud he had captured suddenly started to expand... before it burst with a sickening _squelch._ Instead of the flames he had captured, a small and naked human body tumbled out, landing roughly on the sands of Hueco Mundo. The boy unconsciously curled up on himself, almost hiding his flaming red hair from Szayel's view, before he finally turned toward him, tired green eyes blinking up at him curiously.

Szayel's eyes narrowed as the two gazed at each other. This was the same boy from the vision he had just seen... but he was human, and he quickly realized from the lack of a chain or a void that he was also very much _alive._ Perhaps that was why the thing had drained him... to give life to this human? Then what was that burning soul...?

The boy spoke, the same unusual language that the soul had spoken the first time, only much more distinct. He recognized the tone as being the same: he was asking for his name. Strange that... the soul and the human were separate creatures entirely? The boy let out a curious noise, breaking him off from his thoughts, and he let out a very put upon sigh. There was no danger now that the soul was gone, so he returned to his normal form, sliding his sword back into its sheath as he answered:

"Szayel Aporro Grantz."

The boy blinked at his last name, a curious look on his face. He shook it off after a moment, before pressing a hand to his chest.

"Luke. Luke fon Fabre."

Luke... an English name that meant "light". How apt; Szayel let out a soft snort, and shook his head as the boy continued to try to speak, indicating that he could not understand him.

"As entertaining as your babbling is, I imagine you're not finding the sand very pleasant," he replied, earning himself a blank look in return. Szayel rolled his eyes again, motioning for him to stand. Luke seemed to get the idea that time, as he looked down at himself and turned a rather vivid shade of scarlet, trying vainly to cover himself.

"Ah, human modesty..." Szayel murmured, undoing the zipper of his coat, before dropping it on Luke. He blinked at it, before taking it, pulling it on quickly as he attempted to stand. He wobbled on the spot, forcing the scientist to reach out, placing a hand on his back to steady him. Luke looked over, managing a weak attempt at a smile as he shuffled the coat around his tiny frame, practically drowning in it.

Szayel raised an eyebrow; such a curious creature... he had seen his resurrección, seen him return from it, and yet he was not the least bit afraid of him. Was he that naïve, or had he seen things much worse than himself in his previous life?

~.oOOo.~

Luke fidgeted where he sat in the middle of the large laboratory, picking at the clothes he had been given. He was not used to being this covered up, and for a moment he wondered if because this much clothing was so uncomfortable and hard to move was what made Asch so damn stiff and irritable. The thought brought a smile to his face, and he fought back a snicker as Szayel entered the room. The scientist raised a curious eyebrow at him, and he shrugged sheepishly, earning himself another curious look, before the man shook it off.

Luke smiled again; if so many clothes made a person stiff, well... He glanced around at the pristine and perfect laboratory, at the perfect rows of test tubes, the perfectly polished computers and lab tables, and... Yeah, so far his theory was pretty accurate.

Szayel started speaking suddenly, drawing his attention over to where the scientist was tapping away at one of the many fon machines in the room. He had never seen this much technology all in one place, and he could not help but think that Guy would _love it_ here. Although that thought sobered his mood rather quickly, and he sighed softly, wondering where on Auldrant he was and how he could get home. He was sure the others were worried sick about him by now...

Szayel turned and Luke perked up, blinking at him as he spoke that incomprehensible language. He shook his head helplessly, not bothering to say he did not understand him, because it was obvious from the look on his face. He had never heard such strange speech before in his life, and it made him wonder if he had ended up in some strange secluded island... but they had been all over Auldrant; how could they have missed such a place, even if they were not looking for it?

The scientist gave up after a moment, motioning for Luke to pay attention to what he was doing. He motioned to his eyes, pointed to the computer screen, and then pointed to his lips; say what he saw on the computer screen. Luke could understand that, and he nodded enthusiastically. Szayel seemed pleased with that response, because he went over to the computer and tapped in a few commands, bringing up a picture on the screen. Luke blinked at it, wondering how this was supposed to help them understand each other, before he shrugged.

"Boat," he said, and after a small pause, the computer started clicking and humming, as if it was looking for something, before a blazing red symbol appeared on the screen. Szayel did not seem too pleased by the sight of it, and pressed another button, making another picture appear.

Luke continued to say the names of the pictures that appeared, the red symbol appearing each and every time. Eventually, the computer started making noises as well, as if attempting to communicate with him, but he still could not understand it. Finally, some strange symbols appeared on the screen, and the computer finally spoke something he could understand.

"This. Language. Is not. Recognized. On Earth."

Luke jumped, pointing at the computer. "Ah! I understood that!" he exclaimed, the computer writing out the strange symbols as he spoke. Szayel nodded as he read the strange text, finally satisfied they were getting somewhere, but Luke was not so satisfied once what the computer said sunk in.

"...this isn't Auldrant, is it?"

Szayel glanced at the computer as it translated, frowning at the unfamiliar word; before he spoke and the computer translated it into something Luke could comprehend.

"This is Hueco. Mundo, a place. Where corrupted. Spirits dwell."

Luke's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "Corrupted spirits? But I'm not... how could I have gotten here?!"

Szayel let out a sigh as he read the words on the screen, adjusting his glasses in a very Jade-like manor as he spoke.

"I do not. Know how this. Came about but I. Intend to find out. From now, specimen. You are my top. Priority in terms of. Research."

Luke felt his heart sink down into his stomach as he scooted back on his seat. Specimen... that sounded a lot like Dist talking, and he knew how obsessive Dist was about his work. He looked up at Szayel, biting his lip.

"...w-what are you going to do to me...?"

Szayel just smirked, not bothering to look back at the translation on the screen. There... now the boy was afraid...


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

A rather loud scream ripped through the hallways leading to Szayel Aporro's lab, making Nnoitra stop dead in his tracks. He knew he hated coming down this way for a reason; the damn science freak would never get the hell out of his damn lab. The place was creepy, and the former Espada was even creepier; though he had to admit he had never heard a scream like _that_ come from there before. Curious despite himself, he continued his path down the hallway, coming to the door at the end that led to the pink haired man's lab and pushing it open carefully.

The scientist had his back turned to the door, ignoring the soft, incomprehensible pleading from the boy strapped down to one of his examination tables. Nnoitra's eyes widened at the sight of the creature, before he banged the door to the lab open the rest of the way, storming into the room.

"The _fuck_ you doin' with a human, 'ya damn freak?" he demanded. "Have 'ya lost what marbles 'ya have left?"

Szayel did not even bother to turn around. "Nnoitra, learn how to announce yourself better," he replied distractedly, fiddling with whatever it was he was messing with, before turning around, holding a syringe in hand. The boy on the table whimpered, trying uselessly to get away, even as Szayel stuck the needle directly into the human's neck. He cried in pain, gasping as his body started to spasm, but Szayel ignored it, turning around and going back to where he had been working.

Nnoitra frowned at his back, before going over to him and grabbing his shoulder.

"Yer off yer nut," he stated as Szayel shrugged him off. 'Whatever yer plannin' with the kid, 'ya should just ferget it. Aizen's already kicked 'ya out of the 'Spada. He catches 'ya doin' this shit, 'ya gonna end up dead."

Szayel merely adjusted his glasses. "Your concern is noted."

The taller man let out an annoyed noise. "Th' hell's so special 'bout the damn kid anyway?"

Before Szayel could answer, the boy moaned softly, letting out strange noises as his body slowly came back under his control. He angled his head to look toward the two of them, mouth moving as he struggled to make proper sounds.

"What... did you... do to me...?"

The boy looked surprised by the words that came out of his mouth, and Szayel had a rather triumphant look on his face.

"There now, Luke. There's no need for the computer any more," he replied, a bit of a smug tone in his voice. Luke looked less than impressed; his head lulling back onto the examination table in exhaustion. Szayel did not pay much attention to his fatigue, removing the straps from him and the table before hauling him up, stuffing the human away in a cage. Luke rested limply against the bars, glaring weakly out at them, before turning away.

Nnoitra watched the kid for a moment, his lip twisting in disgust; humans were such pitiful and weak creatures, and this one seemed exceptionally so. Then again, anyone would be pretty out of it if Szayel did... whatever it is he does when he's alone with a specimen in his lab. He shook his head at the thought, turning his attention back to the shorter man.

"Anyway... 'bout what we discussed..."

Szayel waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten. You'll have your chance within the day."

Nnoitra let out a sound of disgust, glancing at the human again. "Don't get destract'd."

~.oOOo.~

Luke let out a small breath as Szayel finally left the laboratory, wheeling some strange machine along with him. Really, he did not want to know whatever he and that tall guy with the _teeth_ had planned. He did not want to know what Szayel planned for him. All he wanted was to get out of this place as soon as possible and find a way back home, or at least somewhere where he would not be used as a guinea pig. Luke flinched as he moved away from the bars of his cage, rubbing where there was a bruise left on his arm from one of the previous rounds of tests. He could not stand this guy... what a jerk; what right did he have treating human beings like this?!

He waited, listening to hear if Szayel would be coming back right away, before holding his hand out to the bars before him. Maybe, if he concentrated a lot and focused a lot, he would be able to generate a hyperresonance that was just big enough to destroy the bars. It was worth a try, and he did not have very many options at the moment...

Luke grimaced as he tried to concentrate, drawing in Seventh Fonons; it was too quiet in this place, though considering it was a realm of corrupted souls, he was not entirely surprised. It was taking everything for him just to draw in a little bit...!

"C'mon... Lorelei! Please... I don't want to be here...!"

He could feel a soothing presence in the back of his mind at that; it calmed him, and gave him the strength he needed. The Seventh Fonon flooded into his body... and then out through his fingertips, creating a small blast that obliterated the front of his cage as well as whatever was in front of the cage for a good few feet.

"Dammit..." he muttered, slipping out of the cage. No use worrying about the mess; he had to run as fast as he could and hope he could put some distance between himself and that freak.

~.oOOo.~

Szayel was glancing down at the desert below, where the small child that was now Nelliel Tu Oderschvank lay unconscious near the covered forms of her injured fracción, when the lab alarm went off in his pocket. He ignored it for now, gazing down at the small child; it was fascinating really. He never anticipated a head injury to an Espada as powerful as the tres to result in the shrinkage of form. It was something he would have very much liked to study, but he would not be able to recover her with Nnoitra beside him, and she would probably be taken away by her fracción later. Perhaps he would be fortunate to have another opportunity some other time.

"Oy, Szayel!" Nnoitra snapped, shaking him from his thoughts. "Shut that damn thing up, would 'ya!?"

Oh yes, the lab alarm was still going off in his pocket. He pulled the small device out, silencing it... before glancing at the readout on the screen. What was there instantly brought a frown to his face, and he pocketed the device, whirling on his heel.

"It seems a little mouse has escaped," he said in way of explanation.

Nnoitra let out a rude noise. "Told 'ya 'ya shoulda gotten rid of 'em," he grumbled, before tossing a hand up. "Whatever, th' job's done anyway."

Szayel did not even bother to acknowledge his dismissal, storming down the hallway with a dark expression on his face...

~.oOOo.~

Luke's breath came out in rapid gasps as he forced himself up another flight of steps. This place did not seem to have an end to it anywhere in sight! He was about ready to blast his way through the wall at this point. Three flights of stairs, four really long hallways... just how big was this place he had ended up in? He finally reached the top of the steps, bending over and grasping his knees as he fought for breath back, before starting forward again...

...and stopping cold as he saw he had looped back around to the lab, with Szayel standing right before the entrance.

"Now, how exactly did you blast your way out of that cage?" he asked, a dangerous smile on his face as he took a step forward, forcing Luke to step back. "That cage would keep back even the most advanced of shinigami. You are nothing more than a mere human."

"Maybe your equipment's faulty," Luke snapped back at him, sounding a lot braver than he felt right now.

"I sincerely doubt that," the pink haired man replied dismissively, stepping forward again and forcing Luke back once more. Unfortunately his foot met air that time, and he tumbled backward, just barely able to plant a hand on a step and flip himself over to land safely on the ground below. Szayel rolled his eyes, starting down the stairs after him casually a Luke continued to back up.

"Get the hell away from me!" he snapped. "I'm not your damn lab rat; I'm a human being!"

"And the difference is what, exactly?" Szayel asked, drawing an annoyed noise from Luke. The taller man shook his head, proceeding forward quickly, grabbing Luke by his chin before he could continue to back away. "You humans are all the same; so convinced of your superiority that you are blind to the fact that you are one of the weakest creatures in existence. I pray that when Aizen achieves his godly ambitions that he annihilates your pathetic race first, or at least grants you all some sense."

Luke let out another frustrated noise, planting his hands on the freak's chest and pushing as hard as he could. He did not move an inch until Szayel let him go, an amused expression on his face as the human rubbed his chin, as if to wipe away the fact that he had touched him. The scientist shook his head, resting a hand loosely on his sword.

"Now then, shall you show me that amazing power that obliterated everything in front of you?" he asked, drawing his sword and holding it at the ready. "I really would like to see it. But if you will be uncooperative, I suppose I'll have to drag it out of you. Forgive me for not being the best in terms of combat ability."

He slashed his sword at Luke, and the human barely jumped away in time, but not without the front of his clothes being cut open, a faint trickle of blood coming from the cut on his chest. Szayel shook his head in disappointment, aiming another strike at the redhead, though he was able to better dodge that one.

Luke let out an alarmed noise as Szayel continued to press the attack, ducking and dodging, but he knew he could not keep this up forever, especially with how tired he was already. He yelped as the blade brushed by his arm, leaving another thin cut behind. Dammit, he did not have any choice here; the pink freak would get bored of this game eventually, and when he did…

"Fine, you want it so bad?!" he exclaimed, a burst of power coming from him as he went into his overlimit. Szayel raised an eyebrow at the small burst, but when nothing else happened he continued his assault. That was just fine for Luke, however; with the two of them moving, sound was generated in the otherwise quiet world. That gave him a chance to gather up more Seventh Fonons; it would not be much, but it would be enough for this.

Szayel did not seem to understand what he was doing until he actually did it; the small burst of power that had come from him before was just a prelude to the explosion that was coming from the human now. Waves of energy erupted around them, cutting into the scientist's flesh like he was made of paper. Luke brought his hands before him, and the blast that erupted from them bathed the hallway in a brilliant white light.

Luke stumbled back as the light died away, Szayel obscured from his view by dust from the floor his Radiant Howl had destroyed. The guy had to be dead though; there was just no way he could have survived something like that, even if he had not put as much power into it as he wanted to. Just as he was about to check and make sure, however, a hand snapped out of the dust, grabbing him by his coat and slamming up against the wall. His head bounced painfully against it, and his vision swam as Szayel came back into view.

"Very good, specimen; you get to live a little longer," he heard him say, before passing out.

Szayel let out an annoyed noise, letting the boy's body drop to the floor, before sheathing his sword and looking upon his tattered clothes with disgust. Most impressive, for a human; he even managed to cut him a little, though he knew that was hardly one tenth of the boy's power. Still, he would pay for ruining one of his precious outfits, the little...

The sound of clapping and the approach of footsteps cut his thought process off, and he froze when he felt a familiar, crushing presence behind him. He quickly turned, immediately dropping to one knee, not about to be defiant in the face of this much destruction.

"Aizen-sama, forgive me for not informing you of this sooner," he said quickly, bowing his head to keep the annoyed expression on his face from view. Dammit, why now; why did he have to show up now of all times?

"Informing me of what?" Aizen replied pleasantly, though Szayel did not need to be looking at him to know that the smile on the man's face was entirely fake. "The fact that you are keeping a human, or the fact that you've been experimenting to discover why he gives off such an unusual energy signature?"

Busted; Szayel did not even bother to try to defend himself. He knew it would not get him anywhere at all. Aizen let out a soft noise, stepping toward him.

"Szayel, Szayel... my ambitious child, Szayel..." he murmured faintly, shaking his head as he walked. "I hope you realize that you are making it harder for yourself to rejoin your Espada brethren."

Szayel's hand tightened, but he did not protest as Aizen approached Luke's limp form, nudging his side slightly with a foot. There was a long, tense moment, before the shinigami turned, starting down the hallway.

"Impress me with what he is capable of, Szayel, and I will reconsider your brilliance over your strength," he ordered with finality, not bothering to turn around as he spoke.

Szayel waited until the sound of footsteps had faded away before he lifted his head, feeling his heart settling back in his chest where it belonged. That was closer than he cared to admit... Aizen could have easily eliminated the both of them without a second thought if he perceived what he was doing to be too much of a risk. Now that he had his consent, however... he glanced over at the unconscious boy as he stirred slightly; now that he had his consent and he had experienced what Luke was capable of first hand, he could begin his research in earnest.

He stood up, dusting off his tattered clothes out of habit. Now then, he knew he would not be able to get the boy to repeat that same attack. He was going to have to take some drastic measures to ensure his obedience...

~.oOOo.~

To say that Luke felt weird when he woke up again was a bit of an understatement. He knew he was on an examination table again, but he was not strapped down for once. Despite this, he could not seem to bring his body to move, as if he had been paralyzed. That was not the case and he knew it; he could still feel each little involuntary movement of his body, so why could he not move.

Suddenly, Szayel hovered into his view, an amused smirk on his face. Luke tried to grimace in disgust, but... he could not even do that. What was going on...?!

"Ah, specimen," the scientist began. "So glad you could rejoin us. Would you kindly stand up, please?"

Szayel stepped out of the way, and despite all of Luke's will to defy the bastard and stay right where he was, his body responded on its own, standing up before Szayel. Luke wanted to be horrified as realization slowly dawned on him, but the emotion could not even reach his face.

"Now, specimen, because of your willful defiance, I'm afraid I've had to take away your ability to make your own choices. I hope you don't mind," Szayel explained, starting to pace, the ever present arrogant smirk on his face. "Right now I imagine your mind is still as what is normal for you, but don't worry, that will change as it adjusts to your current circumstances. Right now, your purpose will be for research and development... Aizen has granted me free reign in discovering just what your full potential is, and I intend to do exactly that."

He paused a moment, turning toward Luke. "Specimen, please acknowledge that you've comprehended everything I've said so far."

Luke, of course, nodded.

"Excellent. We will begin tests shortly. I assure you, they will be quite painful, but you don't have to scream if you don't want to."

Luke wanted to cry as the pink haired man let out a cruel laugh, but he could not even do that without Szayel's permission.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, wow... I still can't believe I wrote this chapter. The end of this chapter is... very morbid. Extremely morbid. Hannibal Lector morbid. I swear I wasn't on anything morbid. So, yes, if gore is not your thing, I suggest stopping after Luke's transformation; you'll only be missing his revenge.

CHAPTER THREE

There was no safe place in Hueco Mundo for the boy to fully unleash his abilities, and this excited Szayel in a way that no other scientific discovery could.

He was watching from a plateau over a wide expanse of desert as Luke created that massive sphere of light, the destructive force growing steadily larger, until it was nearly in front of the scientist's face. The ground beneath his feet trembled, threatening to give way as the readings from the small computer he held soared off the charts, nearly blowing a fuse as it attempted to record all of the data.

It did not take long for him to realize that the boy's power did not come from his reiatsu, but from the simplest of outside sources: sound. Somehow, Luke was able to draw in energy created even by the tiniest of vibrations, and convert it into a massive destructive force, similar to an arrancar's cero. Unlike a cero, which could be blocked by a strong enough reiatsu, this could most likely wipe out anything it touched, no matter how strong the individual was.

It was a dangerous power... and it was all in his hands.

He reached up, touching a small communicator in his ear. "That's enough, specimen. Allow it to dissipate."

A faint grunt of effort came from the other end of the line, but the ball of energy slowly began to shrink, and the ground at the former Espada's feet fell quiet. That was the only concern with the boy's power: it was highly volatile. It had taken several months before he had been able to get Luke to this point, where he could fully test his abilities without having to worry about the damn thing blowing up in their faces.

With the energy gone, Szayel used his sonído to rejoin the boy on the desert floor below, where he was still standing obediently, awaiting his orders. It had seemed like Luke's personality, his inner self, had fallen quiet in his mind after the first month – a longer time then he would have given a normal human credit for – leaving only an empty shell of who he was behind. A pity he had to take things this far; he was certain the boy could be quite an agreeable presence among the gloomy, sadistic, and overbearing arrogance of most of the other arrancar within Aizen's army.

He let out a faint sigh, shaking the thought away as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, a silent command for him to start walking back toward Las Noches. There was no point in lamenting it now; besides, the boy was much more valuable as a research tool than a pet, and it was not like he needed a human for a pet anyway. He could make whatever he wanted if he desired a pet, after all.

Still... Szayel glanced down at the human as they walked, observing the deceptively blank expression on his face, though he certainly knew better. Luke was developing different personality quirks; they were faint and hard to spot if you did not know him well enough, but clearly there. Considering Szayel spent the majority of his time observing and recording everything Luke _did,_ he was certainly able to recognize these small changes. Right now the boy was pleasantly content, and that caused part of him to worry; Luke, even if he was a mere human, was an anomaly compared to everything else on Earth. The possibility of him being able to break through the hold he had on him was not that unbelievable, mostly because there was still so much about him that he had yet to discover.

He reached down, running a hand through Luke's short hair, causing him to blink in what Szayel recognized as his way of showing surprise.

"Hm... just what other surprises do you have in store for me, Luke...?"

~.oOOo.~

They were watching him again.

There was a rare occasion where Szayel would send him off on an errand; he was just an experiment after all, so being trusted to handle something that his master needed done was a treat. Unfortunately, it could not be anymore obvious that his presence was not welcome to the others that dwelled the halls of Las Noches. The three other human-like creatures that were here on occasion – former shinigami, as he learned, and those that led the Espada and arrancar – were pleasant enough, and mostly ignored him once he was dismissed from their presence. He was ignored by the Espada as well, mostly because he was largely insignificant and beneath their notice. The other arrancar, however... they looked down on him with various degrees of disgust and distaste; and the fact that he was incapable of responding to them did not help matters either. Most just ignored him when they realized that he could not respond to their taunts, however...

There were two that continued to persist in tormenting him, the same two that were watching him step out of Aizen's quarters after delivering a report that his master made. One with dark hair and a strange, curved horn coming out of his head for a mask, and another with very long light hair and a mask that covered his entire neck. He did not know their names or numbers, nor did he really care. They were just thugs, and he walked past them as usual, completely ignoring them...

...until the one grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"Now where do you think you're going, human?" the dark haired one asked.

"Don't'cha know how to show respect to those that are superior to you?" the blonde added.

If Luke were capable, he would have let out a sigh, but instead he shrugged off the hand on his shoulder so he could continue. His master had ordered him to return as soon a he was finished, and these idiotic goons were trying to prevent that. Unfortunately, he did not get very far before they grabbed his shoulders again, forcing him to stop once more.

"What's the matter? Szayel cut out your tongue?" the blonde haired one asked, shoving a finger in his mouth. Luke let out an awkward noise... and he found himself biting down on the finger before he could stop himself. The arrancar let out a yelp, pulling his finger out and giving it a shake.

"You little bitch!" he snapped, slamming his fist in his face. Luke's head jerked back painfully, though he didn't go flying, as the other arrancar was still holding onto him. The man laughed as he slumped back, forcing him back up to his feet and holding him up by his coat.

"Ha, did you really just bite him?" he asked, amused, before slamming his fist into his gut. "You've got guts for a human! I'd like to see how they'd look splattered all over the floor!"

Luke's foot twitched a bit as he fought against himself – his master had not ordered this, he should not be responding to these idiots – before it snapped out, nailing the arrancar painfully in the face. He howled, dropping the human, who scrambled to get away as fast as he could, only to be grabbed by his blonde counterpart. For once he did not waste words, and jabbed Luke in the throat as hard as he could, making him quickly drop to his knees as he fought for breath.

"Oh, did I break something, 'ya little shit?" he asked, his foot snapping out and hitting Luke in the stomach. His body jerked, and he barely landed back on his hands and knees as he continued to gasp desperately for air.

The other one came up behind him, slamming his foot down on his back and grinding painfully down on him. No... no... this was not how it was supposed to end... he could not die here. His master would never forgive him for letting such _trash_ abuse him like this; he was _better_ than them!

Luke closed his eyes, feeling that familiar warmth inside of him; that warmth that had been with him since he had arrived in this cruel world, and comforted him even long after he had forgotten himself. It responded to him, springing up around him like fire, making the arrancar jump back in surprise as the fire bore into him, healing his wounds. He took a deep breath, reaching behind him as if grasping a sword hilt and pulling... and in a burst of fire, the sword he was grabbing for appeared in his hand.

Luke stood up, his legs shaking as he held the sword up, twin blades gleaming in the dim light and making the weapon look more like a tuning fork than an actual sword. The dark haired arrancar stared at it, raising an eyebrow, before he barked out a laugh.

"The hell is that?" he demanded. "What, you think you can actually—"

Luke suddenly surged forward at that moment, left hand tightening on the hilt of the blade as he brought it up in a powerful slash, though the arrancar just barely jerked away as he brought it back down again. The man stumbled back as Luke turned his blank face up to him, watching a trail of blood trickle down the arrancar's face.

The dark haired spirit reached up, touching the blood in surprise. "You actually...?" he began, before his face darkened to a scowl as he drew his sword. "You are so _dead!"_

Luke raised his sword, meeting the first attack, and the second, and he would have been able to launch a counter attack if the blonde had not come up behind him; the arrancar's weapon had taken the form of clawed grips, and they both tore into the left side of his face, leaving a gaping wound behind. His mouth flung open, trying to scream, but the arrancar he had been fighting slammed his sword hilt into his gut, making him cough up blood instead. Luke tumbled to his knees again, pain radiating through his body as he felt the edge of a sword press against his neck.

"Nice knowin' 'ya, human," the dark haired arrancar sneered, raising his sword...

_"Ahem."_

The faint click of footsteps made both arrancar stop, turning to see Szayel approaching, his hands folded behind him, and a dark look in his eyes as he fixed them on the two of them. He stopped just a few feet away as the arrancar lowered his sword, quickly moving away from the bruised and bloody human.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing to my experiment?" he asked.

Neither of them was willing to answer, though the dark haired one let out an irritated noise first, sheathing his sword and storming away. The blonde shot Luke another look of disgust, licking the blood from his face wound off one of the claw's blades, before following his companion, leaving Szayel and his little experiment alone.

Szayel actually found himself dumbfounded for the first time in his existence. When the boy had not returned promptly, he knew he had to have been dragged into trouble by one of the mindless idiots that dwelled in this place. He had arrived just as the boy started to glow, pulling out that sword that he was now clinging to desperately. It was not a zanpakutō, that much was clear... but how he had summoned it to him...

Humans could not _do_ that!

His thoughts were distracted as Luke moved, struggling to his feet, the sword hanging limply from his hand. He looked up to Szayel once he finally managed to stand, shaking from head to foot as blood dripped steadily down his face, before shuffling over to him. The former Espada did not move as Luke stood right before him... before reaching up with his free hand, clenching the scientist's coat and leaning forward, burying his face against his chest as he continued to shake. It took Szayel a moment to process this new emotion his experiment was demonstrating:

Fear.

"M...m...maa...sterrr..." the boy struggled to say, his voice hoarse from lack of use, and causing Szayel to stare down at the boy, not bothering to hide his shock. He really did not know what to make of this; he was not supposed to be able to move or speak or do anything without his command, but this boy just seemed to constantly defy him... and because he thought he was his master? What was this, he did not need a human pet, dammit! Humans were disgusting creatures, and...

The mental image of the redheaded fracción returned to his mind, cutting off his thoughts cold. No... maybe not a _completely_ human pet...

"Szayel Aporro-sama," he corrected him sternly. Luke peered up at him curiously, his shaking slowly coming to a stop as he blinked.

"...S-Sza-ayel Aporrro-s-sama," he repeated softly.

~.oOOo.~

As soon as they returned to the lab, Szayel put Luke under sedation before patching up the left side of his face as best he could. Sadly, there was no way he would be able to reconstruct his cheek; too much of the skin was missing, and it was not like he had and abundance of human tissue to work with. Perhaps after it healed he could patch it up after growing some synthetic skin, but it would be at least a month before he could do that. Besides, he had more immediate concerns when it came to what to do with the human.

In theory, he could easily introduce arrancar DNA to the boy's DNA, and let nature take its course; if Luke was strong enough to accept the change – and there was no doubt in his mind that he was – then he would be a functioning creature once the procedure was complete. Whether or not he _should_ do it, however... Szayel frowned, remembering the warning Aizen had given him, about how just keeping the boy was jeopardizing his chances to reclaim his place among the Espada. Of course, he wanted that more than anything, but he also wished to pursue his research...

Szayel inhaled slowly, before letting the breath out as he swiveled his chair around to look up at his precious computer.

"...Computer, cameras off. This procedure will be documented by audio only," he commanded. One of the many faint hums that surrounded him came to a stop, indicating that the cameras were indeed off. His hands flew over the keyboard in the next instant and the wheels on the examination table Luke was laying on hummed to life, bringing the boy over to the computer and latching into where a myriad of extensions were protruding from it.

"Scanning subject's DNA structure," Szayel murmured as two needles extended from the machine, sticking themselves with perfect precision into either side of Luke's neck, drawing blood from him as a scanner swept over his body. Data immediately flowed onto the computer screen as the needles retracted, where they too would be analyzed, creating a near perfect DNA profile.

"DNA analysis complete," he announced. "Comparing subject's DNA to the DNA of all residents of Las Noches for a compatible match."

The computer beeped steadily, going through the profiles of the Espada first, before running through the profiles of the many numerós, trying to find the closest match possible. DNA, of course, was like a blueprint of a creature's body; everyone had a DNA profile, even those that were dead. No two DNA patterns were the same, but there were always similarities between two people, however minute they could be. Naturally, being the lead scientist of Las Noches, he had the profiles of every arrancar that ever set foot in castle's halls on file, not to mention samples.

If he found a match from an arrancar that was not among the Espada, he would do this.

Many profiles were rejected outright by the computer; the percentage match was far too low to even be bothered with. The portraits of those that had fifty percent compatibility or higher lined up along the bottom of the screen, until the computer suddenly let out a loud beep as it found the perfect match. Szayel covered his mouth with a hand, hiding the sharp intake of breath from the computer's microphone...

...as he stared up at his own portrait, with a flashing _ninety-eight percent_ compatibility rating next to it.

This was ridiculous; there was no way in hell his own DNA could be _that_ compatible – it was impossible, and defied all proven laws that governed how an individual's DNA worked. Now what would he do? It would be a cold day in hell before Aizen would ever let him get away with this; the thing that could be created from his DNA... perhaps it was best not to imagine.

Still, if he did not at least attempt...

He blew out his breath, sitting up straight; he would just have to alter the data in the computer after the procedure was complete. It would not be the first time.

"DNA is compatible with an unnamed arrancar that existed when the previous lead scientist lived," he said aloud, pressing several buttons. "This arrancar is confirmed to have never been among the ranks of the Espada, and is concluded to be an acceptable test for this experiment."

Szayel entered one last command, before Luke was pulled deeper into the mass of appendages that were attached to the computer. Several long tubes extended from the inside, attaching themselves to his forehead, neck, and arms. The scientist stood up, cutting off the stained coat and shirt from Luke's unconscious body, before removing his pants, leaving him nude as more tubes extended from the machine to attach to even more areas of his body.

He sat back down at the machine, the clothing falling to his feet as the last warning appeared on the computer screen, informing him that this was his last chance to abort the procedure. Szayel's gaze flicked over to the boy's prone form, remembering the vision he had seen out in the desert all those months ago once again. The fiery soul had said he would not permit that future to pass... was it so he would try to question himself now?

"Tch..." he muttered to himself, practically stabbing the continue button with a finger.

The machinery within the computer hummed to life, the tubes shifting about Luke's body, working to fuse his DNA together with Szayel's as the computer constantly monitored his vital signs. The process was slow, but necessarily slow; if it went any faster than it already was, there was a chance of a mutation occurring, or even killing Luke, something he wanted to avoid at all cost. For awhile, everything was running smoothly, but once it reached the halfway point, there was a sudden, massive drop in the redhead's vitals.

Szayel swore softly as he stood up, pressing a button that would send a shock through the boy's system in an attempt to revive him. He saw Luke's body jerk out of the corner of his eye, his vitals coming back up, but not by much. It worried him, but not entirely too much; he was introducing the DNA of something that was _dead_ to something that was _alive._ Perhaps it was to be expected that some parts of the human body would start to shut down.

Sixty percent... sixty-five... at seventy percent, Luke's body started to twitch. The movements were very faint – a finger here, a toe there – and Szayel thought nothing of them, more concerned with the fact that his vital signs were just barely staying over that which was considered "alive". Five hours into the procedure, and it was finally encroaching on eighty percent when a sudden alarmed cry came from Luke, drawing another rude curse from Szayel. Dammit, he woke up, but it was too late into the procedure to introduce another sedative. He reached out blindly, placing a hand on a part of his leg that was not being occupied by a glass tube. The human calmed almost instantly, though he was too stressed to be relieved by it.

Ninety... Ninety-one... Ninety-two... At ninety-five, Luke's body started to jerk involuntarily, and Szayel could feel the very air around him starting to vibrate as strange noises started to come from the boy. Dammit, was that strange power of his starting to go out of control _now?_

"Shit...!" he snarled, programming a quick command into the computer; he did not have the time to figure out why Luke's power was suddenly coming to life, and it was better to nip it cleanly in the bud before things got worse. A faint, confused noise came from inside as the machine cut off Luke's hearing, and the vibration that surrounded them slowly died off, as well as the boy's spasms, leaving the procedure to come to a rather mundane end.

Szayel had to pause a moment, letting out a breath he had not even realized he was holding. The computer continued to read Luke's vitals, still abnormally low for a living creature, as the tubes pulled away from his skin. He finally turned to look at the boy, raising an eyebrow as he first noticed the paler skin tone, before reaching out and grasping the examination table, rolling it out.

Luke blinked up at him as he was wheeled out, looking up at Szayel in confusion; though the scientist ignored it, more focused on the wound the boy had endured. It had warped and twisted while he had been in there, and it took him a moment to realize that _bone_ was growing out through the damaged skin. Szayel let out a soft snort, shaking his head in disbelief at how relatively smoothly that had gone.

"It seems you've become even more interesting, specimen," he commented.

Luke blinked, reaching a hand up, pressing it to his ear, before blinking again.

"For our protection," Szayel explained, earning himself another blink, though Luke seemed to get the idea, as eventually he nodded in acceptance before his head lulled to the side, exhaustion from the procedure setting in. Szayel smirked, before leaning close, whispering in his ear even though the boy could not hear him.

"Rest now. You will enjoy the task I have for you when you wake up..."

~.oOOo.~

It was with a touch of pride that Luke walked down the halls of Las Noches once he recovered from the experiment his master had put him through. Szayel had allowed him to pick out his own clothes, and it brought a bit of a spring to his step, the flaps of his new coat snapping smartly against his legs as he walked. The clothing reminded him of _back then,_ before he met his master, yet at the same time looked like something his master would wear. He felt like himself, yet he felt like he belonged at the same time; it was an odd feeling, and he really quite enjoyed it.

Now, if only his master could safely return his hearing to him, it would be wonderful.

Luke could not complain though, even if he were capable of doing so. His master had sent him on a rather important errand, and he was more than _happy_ to accomplish it, now that he had the strength to walk. It did not take long to find the targets of his errand either; they were standing near the entrance to the long corridor that led to the labs, just as master promised they would be.

_Excellent._

"Oy, the fuck...?" the dark haired arrancar that delighted in tormenting him asked as Luke approached, calming his stride as the man glared at the bone that was peeking through the wound on his face. "Is this some kind of insult?"

"Oh _look,"_ the blonde sneered, pinching the smooth side of Luke's face like he was some child. "He's playing at being an arrancar! Isn't that so _adorable?"_

Instead of his face remaining an emotionless mask, Luke just smiled... before he reached up and snapped the blonde arrancar's finger clean off. It took the other man a moment to register just what had happened, blood dripping onto Luke's shoulder, before he howled in agony, stumbling away from him as his companion stared at the missing finger in shock.

"You son of a—"

The dark haired arrancar was lunging for Luke, drawing his sword as he moved... but to the redhead, it looked like he was moving so slowly. All he had to do was just step to the side, and...

A small burst of a static-like sound was the only warning the arrancar got to the fact that Luke was no longer in front of him. The sound of a sword leaving its scabbard was the only warning he got that something bad was about to happen. Unfortunately, that was the end of the warnings the dark haired man would ever receive, as Luke's sword cleaved him neatly in two.

The blonde backed away from Luke as the pieces of his friend fell to the floor, blood quickly pooling around the remains of the corpse. He stared down at it curiously as the remaining arrancar quavered, continuing to back away until he was certain this _monster_ was distracted enough for him to escape. At the last second, though, Luke's head snapped up, staring the blonde down as he shrank back in fear.

"N-no way...!" the man exclaimed. "You're human! Your reiatsu sucks! H-how the hell...?!"

Luke's sword lashed out, and the blonde just barely dodged, scrambling away as fast as he could. The static bursts of sonído behind him, however, let him know he was anything but safe as the redhead swiftly caught up to him. His sword struck out again, and this time the arrancar found himself falling forward as a leg was sheered clean from his body, landing beside him with a sickening _thud._ He let out a startled noise, turning around as Luke approached him slowly, holding up his hands... only to have an arm join his leg on the ground.

He fell over on the ground in pain, gasping for breath and trembling with fear as the redhead stood over him. Luke gazed down at him, tilting his head to the side curiously... before he sat down on top of him, straddling his hips as he tilted his head, watching the fear on his face...

...and his lips quirked up into a slow, cruel smile.

His sword slammed down into his chest to the accompaniment of a pained cry, but it was not yet enough to kill him, nor was it intended to. He used the tuning fork-like weapon as a crowbar, hooking it into the arrancar's ribcage and forcing it and the skin of his chest up with a sickening _crack_ of bone and the _squish_ of flesh being torn. The blonde screamed in agony, but Luke ignored it, tilting his head curiously as he saw the arrancar's rapidly beating heart pounding away in the revealed cavity.

He reached in with a careful hand, gently pulling out the beating organ, still attached to the various veins and arteries that gave it life. Luke stroked it gently as the blonde stared in morbid horror, watching as that cruel smile returned to the boy's face.

This would be the last sight the arrancar would see, before Luke crushed the heart in his hands.

He sat there even long after the arrancar had stopped twitching, staring at the remains of the heart he was holding, turning it over and over again curiously. It was almost like he did not know what to do with it now, and he almost considered leaving it... when a strange urge overcame him, starting from the pit of his stomach and working its way up to his mouth. He opened it, letting out a soft cry that he could not hear, before he found himself leaning toward his hand.

His tongue slipped out, gently lapping at the blood that surrounded the crushed organ, testing it curiously. It made his stomach lurch, and before he even knew what was happening, his teeth were biting into the organ, ripping a chunk off and chewing it thoroughly before he swallowed. Another cry escaped from him, and then he was eating ravenously, like some kind of animal that had been left to starve. He did not stop – he could not stop – and not even the bones were safe from the hunger that made a part of him scream in unheard anguish.

Down the hallway, just out of sight, Szayel watched as the child ate... a dark smile coming to his face as he watched the first successful test of _his_ new arrancar.


	4. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

"You. Are. Insane."

Szayel cocked his head, staring up at the taller, lankier man in surprise. "I'm impressed, Nnoitra. That's the most articulate I've ever heard you speak," he said, shaking his head as he turned away from him.

Nnoitra let out an annoyed growl, grabbing Szayel by his shoulder and forcing him to turn around. It was fortunate he did; the scientist was able to catch sight of Luke about to grab for a tesla coil just pass the other arrancar. He used his sonído to get over to the boy immediately, snatching his hand away before his curiosity led to his death. Luke jerked up to him in surprise, eyes widening, before he ducked his head down apologetically, drawing a sigh out of Szayel. The boy had certainly developed a healthy appetite for knowledge that was not there before, but had yet to demonstrate any other traits he had inherited from himself. He was just fine with that; the less likely it was that Luke's new form would be traced back to his own DNA, the better.

He placed a hand on Luke's head, but the action only seemed to irritate Nnoitra further. The Espada stalked toward them, his zanpakutō braced against his shoulder as usual. The weapon had been growing larger as of late; and though he knew better, he could not help but think that it was probably to match the man's growing ego since they had collaborated together. He was becoming just like any other pig headed moron that thought too highly of themselves...

"I told 'ya, 'ya should have jest killed th' kid," Nnoitra stated. "Yer tresspassin' on God's territory; Aizen's territory. He finds out what 'ya did, he'll have your heads."

"Do you really believe Aizen to be that much of a fool?" Szayel asked calmly, his hand shifting to rest on Luke's shoulder as Nnoitra stopped within striking distance. "He knew from the moment Luke had his first meal. He most likely has not said anything because he knows Luke cannot acknowledge Aizen as god; I don't believe the boy has any _concept_ of such an entity."

"Th' hell kind of idiot do 'ya take me for?" Nnoitra demanded. "How th' hell can he not know what god is?"

"It's quite simple, really," Szayel replied calmly, "his world did not believe in the idea of 'gods'."

"His wo— ...'ya really have lost it, 'ya damn freak."

Nnoitra's weapon came down, and Szayel's grip on Luke's shoulder tightened, about to use sonído again to get both of them out of the way of the attack. Unfortunately, Luke's habit of surprising Szayel struck at the last moment as he broke away from his master, his sword flying out of the sheath on his back and catching Nnoitra's crescent shaped blade. The only reason the boy did not end up cut in half was because the Espada was just as shocked as Szayel was, watching him shove the massive weapon into the ground as hard as he could, before jumping onto the pole arm, running up the length...

"Luke!" Szayel snapped, finally finding his voice. Though the boy could not hear him, he stopped cold anyway, his twin bladed sword poised to thrust straight through the Espada's neck. He remained there for a long moment, cold green eyes boring into Nnoitra's visible one, before he forced himself back, flipping off of the zanpakutō and landing beside his master.

Nnoitra could only stare at the boy for a long moment as he calmly slid his sword back into its sheath, like the Espada would not cleave him in two after that. He was tempted – to be insulted by a freak like this kid was ridiculous! Still, he knew how resourceful Szayel could be... one press of a button, and he would find himself waking up on one of the mad scientist's examination tables.

"Tch..." he growled, swinging Santa Teresa up to rest on his shoulder again. "Fine. 'Ya want Aizen ta' kill 'ya that badly, I won't stop 'ya." He moved to leave, pausing a moment. "We coulda been a good team, 'ya know."

Szayel let out a faint snort, adjusting his glasses. "I'm sorry. I fail to see how any permanent alliance between the two of us would have been considered a 'team'."

Nnoitra let out another rude noise, before storming out of the lab, leaving Luke and Szayel alone once again. The scientist let out a very tired sigh, resting his fingers on the bridge of his glasses. Nnoitra... he had heard he was rising up the ranks of the Espada, and had just killed the quinta, taking his place. The higher he climbed up the ranks, the more obnoxious and difficult to deal with he became. Such thoughts made a little worm of doubt make its way into his head: what if that would be all he became, so obsessed with rank that he lost sight of—

His thought process cut off cold as he felt a hand plop itself on his head. Szayel blinked in surprise, finding himself looking down at Luke as he struggled on the tip of his toes to reach the top of his head.

"...are you trying to comfort me?" he asked, even though he knew the boy could not hear him. Luke let out a strange noise, obviously some attempt at comforting words, before he reached up, taking the boy's hand off his head. "...thank you," he said after a moment, the words coming out with a bit of difficulty.

He rested a hand on his head, running his fingers through his hair... before he stopped cold. Was that... was that pink in his hair? Why was there pink in his hair? Szayel planted his hands on the boy's head as Luke let out a startled noise, his head snapping around to make sure the cameras had not picked it up, before ushering the boy quickly into the computer. Poor Luke, utterly confused, just stumbled inside, baffled by his master's sudden errant behavior.

Szayel's fingers flew over the keys of the computer, working quickly to nip this problem off _fast._ If Luke suddenly started to develop pink hair for no reason, then the source material of the boy's new form would be discovered _very_ fast. Fortunately, his little experiment seemed to sense his panic, and stood very still as appendages came down to rest against his head. The computer went to work in the next moment, ensuring that Luke's red hair follicles _stayed_ red. There was not much he could do about the pink that was there, outside of ripping it out of his head by the root, and he was far from that barbaric. He would just have to make sure the boy's hair was neat and perfect and hid those telltale pink strands until they eventually fell out on their own.

Luke came out on his own once the machine was finished, patting the top of his head, before giving Szayel a curious look. The scientist just slumped over into his chair, planting his hands over his face; perhaps the boy really was more trouble than he was worth, and—

Of course, every time such thoughts came into his head, Luke did something that stumped him, and this time was no different. While his vision had been hidden, he had come around behind him, and Szayel could feel him resting the side of his face that was developing a mask against the top of his head. His hands came down the next moment, resting lightly against the scientist's shoulders, and drawing a faint sigh from him. He really was like a pet; once you started wondering if having it was worth the trouble it did something to make you forget all of the exasperating moments.

Despite Luke's best efforts to calm him, though, the thought of Aizen was ever present in his mind, despite what Nnoitra seemed to think; he had no doubt it was only a matter of time before Aizen would summon them. He had to have Luke ready for the experience, and that meant he needed to be able to hear and respond. He rested his hands against the arm rests of his chair, looking up at the boy.

"We still have work to do."

~.oOOo.~

Szayel had brought them both out to the desert for this, as judging from how massive Luke's powers could become, he did not want to run the risk of blowing the roof off of half of Las Noches. That really would get him killed, assuming he survived the blast, and he was certainly in no mood to die with such a fascinating specimen beside him. He glanced down at the boy, who blinked, before looking back up to him curiously.

They stopped a safe distance away from the castle, and the scientist handed him his sword, getting another curious look as Luke took it. Szayel pointed to his ear, before tapping the tip of the weapon, and earning a nod in return. Good, he understood what he intended for him to do.

It had taken some time for him to analyze what had happened during the DNA fusion, but it really should have been obvious. With the change of DNA also came the change of Luke's reiatsu, and it left him temporarily weak; too weak for him to keep a grasp on his strange powers. Once the procedure was finished, he still could not control it, because his body had changed so much that the sound he could gather into himself did not know how to respond to the change. It was his original power, a power that needed to be sealed, much like a normal hollow that had become an arrancar in Hueco Mundo.

Once that was accomplished, Luke would be able to naturally adapt his manipulation of sound on his own... or at least, he hoped the boy would be smart enough to do that. He had suspected that Luke's intelligence was lacking, even more so than a normal human of his age. Perhaps he was just slow... it would certainly explain his initial reaction to him.

Szayel stepped away from Luke as the boy settled the sword into the sand before him. The scientist came to a rest on a rock a safe distance away, ready to sonído further should he need to. Luke glanced at him, before taking a deep breath, holding his hands out, fingers splayed as he focused, closing his eyes. At first, nothing happened... and then Szayel nearly fell off the rock as the boy's reiatsu suddenly skyrocketed to levels impossible for someone that was still partially human, the sword vibrating violently in the sand as it fought to contain the power Luke was focusing into it.

Dammit, was there ever going to be a point where the boy ran out of surprises?

Just as suddenly as it jumped, however, his reiatsu dropped back down to a more manageable level, before completely returning to normal. Szayel stood there a moment, not sure if that was it or not; that seemed too... anticlimactic for it to be the end. However, Luke was already grabbing for his sword again, slipping it back into his sword sheath, before approaching his master. He paused just before the scientist, looking up to him.

"...I'm sorry if it took too long, Szayel Aporro-sama."

Apparently Luke was not going to stop surprising him any time soon.

Still, Szayel managed to keep his surprise off his face this time, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "...you can hear again?"

"Yes, Szayel Aporro-sama," Luke replied, tightening his grip on his sword. "I'm sorry... I would have done this myself sooner if I understood how this form worked. The Sword of Lorelei will have to hold my abilities until I can understand better."

Lorelei... when Luke had revived, he had heard him call the flaming soul that, and had heard him cry out for it several times while he was still human and still had his own free will.

"Just what is this Lorelei?" he asked.

"Lorelei is the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon," Luke explained, though it sounded more like he was regurgitating information he had already heard from elsewhere. "This is the same power that I use."

Szayel raised an eyebrow at that. "Does it not come from sound?"

"It..." he began, letting out a soft noise as he frowned, disappointed with himself that he could not properly answer him. "...I'm sorry, I wish I could explain it better, but I barely understand it myself."

The scientist nodded, not the least bit surprised. It seemed he was right, but no matter; just like his form, his intelligence could easily be changed as well. It already seemed like he was developing some higher understanding at least. Szayel stepped down from his rock, resting a hand on the boy's back.

"I believe we have quite a lot to discuss, Luke."

~.oOOo.~

Luke was in the machine again, and Szayel could hear the faint sounds of electricity as the computer directly stimulated the areas of the brain the boy would require. It was a simple procedure, one that the scientist had overseen countless times out of random curiosity, and was barely paying attention to the readouts on the screen. Instead, his mind was elsewhere, still focused on the conversation they had once they returned from the desert.

Fonons... basic elements of sound that made up all matter; Luke had only been able to tell him so much before his lack of knowledge hindered him, but Szayel had been able to conclude the rest. It had long been suspected that everything in existence let out a certain frequency, but to have a whole world that not only proved the theory but made use of it in everyday life... The thought thrilled him, and he almost wished he could discover a way to travel to this "Auldrant" the boy called home, just to study the science of the place.

A soft hiss came from the machinery within the computer as it completed its task, and Szayel waited a moment before grasping the examination table and wheeling Luke out carefully, examining his head. There was just a faint red line where he had removed the top part of his skull, before letting the machine do the rest of the work, and by the time the boy woke, there would not even be that much. Excellent; perhaps he would be able to make more sense of his past than he had before, and maybe... well, an extra set of hands around the lab would certainly be ideal.

"Nh... S-Szayel Aporro-sama...?" Luke's soft voice broke him out of his thoughts, and a hand instantly went to the boy's chest, keeping him from moving too much (even though he was already strapped down rather securely... he did not want his specimen damaging itself, that was all).

"Don't move," he ordered. "You shouldn't even be awake yet."

Despite his order, Luke stubbornly opened his eyes to look up at him, almost making the scientist swear aloud. The boy was starting to develop a stubborn streak... was he breaking through the hold he had on him on his own, or had it been nullified by his transformation? He could not tell without cutting the boy open again and studying him hands on, something he was not so willing to do after this last procedure. Still, Luke knew who his master was, and still acknowledged him as such… there should not be any danger yet.

"A-Aizen..." Luke continued, dragging Szayel back to him. "Aizen will... call for us soon... he will... will..."

Szayel rested his fingers over the boy's lips, silencing him. "I know, boy. I know. Rest and recover so that you will have strength enough for the encounter."

~.oOOo.~

_He did not dream; he was a spirit, and he rarely even slept, not to mention actually dream. Szayel knew this was not reality, however, if only for the simple fact that he had been in his laboratory a moment before. How strange for him to fall asleep during his work..._

_"Hurry, this way!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and he spun around, finding himself staring at a massive city built into the side of a mountain, and a group of six people running away from it... one of which was a very familiar face._

_"Natalia," Luke began as a blonde woman stopped, looking back to the city, "c'mon, we've got to get out of here, before the guards make it through."_

_"But..." the woman protested, "Asch... and everyone..."_

_"They made their choice," Luke assured her. "They believe in you as the princess, even if that's not really your title by birth. It doesn't matter to them; don't let that belief go to waste."_

_The woman bowed her head, shaking, before she nodded, hurrying after the others. Luke cast her back a sad look, glancing behind him before he started after her. This was rather strange... this was not a normal dream at all. Was Szayel viewing Luke's memories somehow? If that were the case, would he not be following Luke to where ever it was he disappeared to?_

_There was a long stretch of silence, before a strange vehicle pulled up from where Luke and his companions disappeared. In the next moment, a woman in pink stepped out, looking around, before she stood up on the tips of her toes, waving a hand._

_"Asch! Hurry!"_

_An irritated noise came from behind Szayel, and he found himself turning around... and staring in utter shock. The boy that was coming over the hill now was different, to be sure; different hair, different clothes..._

_...but his_ face...

_"Asch!"_

_"I know, I know!" the boy snapped gruffly, brushing past Szayel like he was not there as the woman in pink ducked back inside. He paused a moment before he went inside himself, looking directly at the scientist, green eyes narrowed in slight distaste._

_"Tch... why would you care as much as you do about that worthless dreck?"_

~.oOOo.~

Szayel jerked awake with a start, finding himself blinking up at the ceiling of his laboratory, the faint hum of the computer beside him and his chair creaking beneath him. That dream... if the redhead at the end had not spoken directly to him, he would have thought it a dream of Luke's past. If it was not of his past, then just what kind of dream was that? He had certainly never spoken to Luke of the people he had traveled with or anything of the sort.

A faint sigh came from below him, and Szayel looked down to see Luke was curled up on the floor next to him, the bone masked side of his face resting on his lap. He let out an awkward noise, looking from the boy on the floor to the examination table he had been strapped to. Damn this stubborn kid...!

Luke stirred after a moment, rubbing his eyes as he lifted his head, looking up to him as he let out a yawn. Szayel wanted to snap at him, but he was at a loss of which he wanted to snap at him for: breaking the straps of his examination table, getting off the table when he needed to recover, or being cute.

...ugh, he did not just think the boy was cute. Delete that last thought!

"Luke," he said instead, keeping his expression neutral as he glanced down at him, "is there anything about yourself that you have not informed me of? Anything worthy of note?"

Luke tilted his head to the side. "...no, Szayel Aporro-sama."

It was the first (and would be the only) time Luke had willfully lied to him.


	5. Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

_"Oh, what's this? A little human playing at being a hollow, are you?"_

_Luke stood in the darkness, though he did not know why he was here. He certainly had not remembered falling asleep, even though he had lain down with that intention in mind, nor did he think he would dream of anything when he did. A sudden rushing sound cut his surprise off quickly, however, and he jumped back, blood gushing over the floor and staining his white boots. He let out a soft noise of discontent, before looking up as the sound of footsteps splashed in the blood. Something was coming, but the light was so dim it was almost impossible to make the person out, except for a pair of beady golden eyes glaring at him through the darkness._

_"What? Surprised?" the person asked. "You know who I am, boy."_

_The creature stepped into the area where the most light was, revealing a person wearing his clothes with a massive hole in their chest, a mask of bone gleaming in the light. Vibrant red hair trailed down the person's back, ending in almost blonde tips. Luke took another step back in fear as the man reached up, removing the mask and revealing his face. The other him smirked, before pointing to him, a maniacal grin coming to his face._

_"I am that which will consume you whole!"_

_Blood suddenly burst from Luke's face in a miniature explosion and he could see pieces of his skin flying away, his eyes widening..._

~.oOOo.~

Luke jerked awake, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he sat upright. He trembled, trying to force his heart to calm down, processing just what on earth he had been viewing. That nightmarish form... that was him, what he would become... His hands clutched at his chest, and he looked down at them despondently, realizing how very little he knew of the creature he was becoming. Would he have that mask too, someday? Would he have those frightening eyes...?

His thoughts were cut off as he felt something wet soaking through the sleeve of his uniform, and he reached up, brushing at it absently. When his fingers came back sticky, however, he looked down in horror, eyes widening at the red tinge that was on them... the massive blot of blood on his uniform, dripping down from his face...

_...his face...!_

He could not stop himself as a terrified scream ripped from his throat. A startled crash came from the lab, followed by a curse and the sound of footsteps approaching his door, before his master flung it open. Luke turned toward him, blinded by the light, and therefore did not see the scientist approach, easily lifting him up and bringing him out into the lab to let him rest on one of the examination tables.

Szayel swore again as he gathered up some gauze and antiseptic, carefully cleaning Luke's face around his bone mask. The mask had gone through some kind of accelerated growth while the boy was sleeping, splitting through skin and in some cases it seemed, tearing it clean off, to form some kind of musical notation shape. The boy laid there, taking the pain and trying desperately not to move or say anything, clearly still frightened by whatever had caused such a scream to come out of him – Szayel sincerely doubted it was just his face bleeding that had him so freaked out. He did not ask, though, motioning for Luke to sit up before carefully wrapping the left side of his face once it became apparent that no accelerated healing would be kicking in any time soon.

Letting out a faint sigh, he moved to stand, only to feel a pair of hands clinging to him. Szayel stopped cold, looking down at the boy as he clung to his midsection, trembling like a leaf.

"Luke, let go."

He did not respond.

"I said, let go, boy!"

Luke shook his head stubbornly.

"...what..." he began softly. "What am I...? What am I becoming...?"

Szayel let his arms drop, a dispassionate look coming to his face. Of course... part of the boy was still human, and he still related to being human. The part of him that was an arrancar was eating away at his sanity, no doubt, destroying his human mind. If that happened, then his ego would most likely collapse and he would be nothing more than a vegetable, rendering all of his research useless.

Dammit, why did humans have to be such frail creatures?

After a moment, he rested a hand on Luke's head. "Luke, what do you wish for?"

Luke let out a soft noise at his question, tensing slightly, almost like he was afraid Szayel had discovered something he had not wished him to know. The scientist was not stupid, he knew the boy was hiding a vital bit of his past from him, but he was not going to drag it out of him, not yet. He bit his lip, glancing down before he answered.

"...I want to understand my place here with you, Szayel Aporro-sama."

Szayel nodded. "Then let me go and rest back," he ordered, and Luke complied this time, reluctantly parting from him. The scientist went over to a counter, filling one of his many syringes with a solution that would have Luke unconscious for quite some time, before coming back and injecting it directly into his neck. "Trust in me; all of your confusion will be gone when you awaken."

Luke reached up, gently resting his hand over Szayel's; but the drug worked quickly, and the boy's hand soon fell away as he drifted off into blissful unconsciousness. The scientist wasted no time once he was unconscious, hurriedly stripped him of his shirt and jacket before strapping him down to the table, rushing over to a counter and placing the tools he would need on a wheeled table and pushing it over to work. There would be no computer this time, no sitting back and observing the perfect results; this was something he would do himself.

_Tch... why would you care as much as you do about that worthless dreck?_

He stopped with a scalpel just inches from cutting open Luke's chest, remembering the words of the boy's strange twin. Care... this was not caring for anything; this was just the pursuit of science, nothing more. Szayel nodded to himself, convinced that it was truth, and gently pressed the scalpel into his skin, drawing it down all the way to his navel, before making two more incisions along his chest and stomach. With all the care of the scientist he was, he reached into him, carefully parting the skin away and pinning it down, before doing the same to the other side.

Szayel had been expecting what he would see inside of the boy, but actually seeing it still brought a severe frown to his face. There was a physical void forming in Luke's chest, pressing against his ribcage and threatening to rip through it and his lungs. Had Luke been dead, he would not be so concerned, but the boy still was for all intents and purposes a living creature; if vital organs were compromised by this void... and dammit, this had to have been painful for him. Why the hell had he never said anything?

The scientist sighed to himself, going back to work. He would need to develop a contraption on the spot that would keep that void from getting any larger. Something small, that could reign in spiritual energy... He gathered up several materials, working quickly, but with great care; he would probably need that void to shrink to a more comfortable size as well, which meant absorbing what spiritual power it developed and...

Calculations rapidly went through his head as his fingers worked about capacitors and resistors, finally encasing the resulting device in a shell of spirit absorbing sekki sekki rock and plastic. The electronics within would be able to keep the void down to a certain size, and the rock would absorb the excess energy; at least, that's how it would work theoretically. The only way he would know was to place it onto Luke.

Szayel took a deep breath, before reaching into him, carefully maneuvering around his ribcage to slip the device directly onto the void. It crackled angrily in response, the device instantly adhering to the void as it struggled to repel it. A long moment passed before the void settled, and started to shrink to a comfortable size. Szayel placed his hands on the exam table, not realizing he had not yet let out the breath he had taken in until he let it out at that moment. It was not that he lacked confidence in what he could do – far from it – it was the fact that Luke was ridiculously unpredictable that made him sigh in relief that this stage of what he needed to do went well.

The scientist stood up straight after a moment, carefully returning his skin to its normal position, before stitching the boy up. With that under control, he would not have to worry about any drastic changes like what happened to the boy's face. Now, there was just one last thing to concern himself with...

Szayel took up his scalpel again, looking down upon Luke's face; if the boy was going to be partially arrancar, he would have to relieve him of any pesky human concerns and fears as to what kind of creature he was becoming. The scientist had never manipulated an individual's mind this much before, or this often; just tampering with him again would probably create irreparable damage. It was a risk he had to take, however. He could not risk losing Luke to mindless insanity; he needed him sane and functioning for the work they still had to accomplish.

Szayel took another deep breath, before pressing the scalpel to his forehead...

~.oOOo.~

The day he had been anticipating had arrived later than Szayel expected; the day Aizen would call him into audience along with Luke. He was not nervous for himself, as he knew he could handle himself well before Aizen. No, who he was nervous for was Luke; the boy had yet to speak again since the last tiresome procedure he had performed on him just days before. He did not believe he had damaged him, but who could ever know with this boy, who silently stood beside him as they waited to be called into the council chamber.

After a very long, nerve-wracking wait, the double doors to the chamber opened, and Szayel swore he felt his heart freeze at the man that emerged. He had heard of the dispassionate Cuarto Espada many a time before, but had never had the opportunity to see him until today. Ulquiorra Schiffer glanced at the two of them, his expression unchanging, before he stepped aside, allowing the two of them to enter. It was as powerful of a message as any.

Aizen was not pleased.

Somehow, Szayel found the means to step forward, Luke falling instep behind him without a word. Inside, Aizen, Tousen, and Gin were seated on a dais above them, their faces neutral as both scientist and experiment knelt before them.

"Szayel Aporro Grantz and Luke fon Fabre, appearing to you as you commanded, Aizen-sama," Szayel intoned softly, not daring to look up just yet.

"Can the boy not speak for himself?" came Tousen's voice.

"At the moment, I believe not," Szayel answered. "A recent experiment has left him temporarily mute."

There was a moment of silence, before Aizen leaned back on his throne, pressing the tips of his fingers together. Another moment of tense silence passed, before the former shinigami finally spoke.

"I believe when I said for you to demonstrate what the boy was capable of, that did not include anything of the sort that we see before us. Did it?" he finally asked. Szayel fought down the urge to grimace in response.

"Forgive me, Aizen-sama," he began, "but it became necessary for his continued survival within the halls of Las Noches. We are creatures that are not among the living, while he was still human. Some within these halls felt his presence was an offense."

"Well maybe if 'ya hadn't had him wanderin' the halls, he wouldn't 'a been in danger," Gin interjected, the fox-like smile still on his face as he seemed to sneer down at them.

"At the time, I believed his usefulness had been exhausted," Szayel replied smoothly. "He soon proved me wrong."

"How very unlike you, Szayel," Aizen replied, and while his tone had not changed, the mocking behind it was obvious. "How many times has the boy proved you wrong in such a manner?"

Szayel paused, taking a breath as he chose his words carefully. "More often than I care to count, and I believe he has much more potential than one could ever find in a human originating from Earth."

Silence hung thickly in the air once more, and Szayel dared to look up, to see the three former shinigami gazing down at Luke and himself, unmoving. He did not dare to breathe, even as he felt the boy shift beside him in unease. Finally, however, Aizen raised his hand, making Szayel's heart leap up into his throat. Instead of the pain he was expecting, however, the door merely opened up behind them. He turned slightly, and Luke lifted his head finally, turning to look as well.

The arrancar that entered had dark complexion, and pieces of the man's bone mask was poking out of his wiry hair. He was heavily built, much more than what looked normal, to the point where he could not even wear his uniform jacket. It was tied around his waist instead, in place of a belt that held up his ragged hakama. He let out a savage noise when he saw Luke, and the scientist and his experiment exchanged disgusted looks, not impressed.

"Perhaps a demonstration of how surprising the boy can be is in order," Aizen replied as the dark skinned arrancar flexed his muscles.

Szayel"s head whipped up in surprise, mouth working before sound finally found its way out. "Aizen-sama, the boy is still partially _human._ Pitting him against such a man is—"

A hand on his arm cut him off, and he turned to see Luke looking up to him. The fear in his eyes was plain as day, but he clearly refused to accept that he was scared. Szayel wanted to protest against it still, but the words died before they could make it out of his throat. He sighed softly, placing his hand over his in approval, standing up to step out of the way.

Luke stood up after a moment, looking up to the three shinigami and inclining his head respectfully, before turning to face his opponent. The other arrancar let out an amused snort, approaching slowly and working his shoulder as Luke's hand settled on the hilt of his sword.

"I'll enjoy crushing you, 'ya little human brat," he sneered. "Consider it payback for eatin' one of my friends."

Luke raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised; so, this was more personal than a test. That was just fine by him; he pulled the Sword of Lorelei from its sheath, but the arrancar was already moving, fists coming down toward him. His eyes widened, raising the sword to block, but he may as well not have bothered and the blow sent him skidding back until his back slammed into the dais. Szayel let out a worried noise, gritting his teeth as he fought against the urge to intervene, as he suspected if he did, they would both be dead before he even reached him.

"What, is that it?" the big arrancar asked. "I thought this would be a challenge!"

Luke made a face, before disappearing with a burst of static. Sonído brought him up close, his sword swinging down, but the man brought his arm up, the sword impacting against it with a loud thud. His eyes widened, before he found himself being thrown across the other side of the room. He hit the wall hard, dust kicking up and hiding his body as he slid down to the ground, letting out a horrible cough. There was no way he was going to survive another hit like that... and no sooner had he thought it was the man there, raising his fist to finish him off.

He used sonído at the last moment to bring himself a safe distance away from the man, leaving him to punch the ground instead. Luke rolled to his feet, looking down to see the perfectly polished floor splintered and cracked from the punch. A small gulp escaped from him, and he clutched at his sword, backing away as the man stood up straight, approaching him slowly.

Luke closed his eyes, looking a bit sad as he shook his head, almost like he did not want to do what he was about to. Finally, he stood up straight, holding the sword before him and making the dark skinned arrancar stop. The man raised an eyebrow, lips quirked in amusement.

"Oh? What now?" he asked him.

Luke reached out, clutching the sword with both hands, before raising it above his head.

_"Howl, Lorelei."_

Even Aizen seemed mildly surprised as Luke spoke, slamming his sword into the ground. A brilliant golden glow suddenly engulfed the weapon along with a strange, inhuman cry, before it suddenly broke apart into spheres of light. Luke closed his eyes, holding his arms out as the spheres bonded to his body and his reiatsu skyrocketed to massive levels, burning brightly where they touched, before slowly fading, leaving no other change.

The bulky man stared, raising an eyebrow, as if he expected something else to happen. When nothing else did, the man let out a sadistic laugh, flexing his fingers.

"Is that all, just a reiatsu upgrade? What a joke! You just screwed yourself!"

Luke calmly held a hand out, shaking his head. "...goodbye."

Suddenly, a blast shot out from his hand, like a spear of light lancing out toward the arrancar. There was a sickening sound as the light pierced through the large man's chest, his eyes widening as the flesh around the light was instantly cauterized. Luke held that spear there for a long moment, before actually grasping the hyperresonance with his hands, ripping it through the rest of his body before making it dissipate. The man stood there in shock, a trickle of blood finally slipping out from his mouth, before he fell over dead.

Luke closed his eyes, reaching out before him as his body started to glow again, drifting down his arms and reforming into his sword. There was a very heavy moment, before he slid his sword into its sheath and stepped to where he had been kneeling before, looking up to only Aizen, before kneeling again.

"Forgive me for allowing him to damage the chamber this much, Aizen-sama," he said softly.

Szayel was just too numb to reply to his experiment's words, and merely looked up as Aizen appeared rather amused, leaning back with an arm on the rest of his throne. He did not respond immediately, his gaze flicking over to the scientist, before focusing back on Luke.

"It is of no consequence," he said. "I'm sure you will more than make up for it in your position as fracción to the new Octava Espada."

It took Szayel a moment to realize he was being referred to, and a soft, awkward noise of surprise escaped from him before he quickly dropped himself to one knee again.

"You honor us both, Aizen-sama."

~.oOOo.~

Szayel still could not believe what had happened even hours after they had been dismissed from Aizen's presence. His heart was still hammering in his chest, and he could only stare as a solution bubbled before him peacefully, not having the heart or the peace of mind to work on his experiments. After a moment, however, he felt hands gently massaging at his shoulders. He jumped a bit, surprised, but he did not bother to turn around, resting back against the counter as the hands rubbed against exactly what needed to be rubbed against.

"You are not really loyal to Aizen-sama, are you, Szayel Aporro-sama?" Luke asked, letting his hands fall away after a moment.

"That is obvious, isn't it, Luke?" he replied, closing his eyes. "I do not have the power to defeat him. I'm questioning why he even allowed me back into the Espada... it feels like I did not even do anything."

"But you did, Szayel Aporro-sama," he said. "You made me, and I have no doubt you will make many more brilliant creations. I am here to assist you. I am here to be your sword and shield, Octava. Anything you ask of me, I will fulfill to the best of my ability, no matter what."

Szayel lifted his head, glancing over to the redhead as he raised an eyebrow. Luke gave him a brilliant smile in response.

"We have a lot of work to do, Szayel Aporro-sama."


	6. Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Gentle gloved hands moved about meticulously over the form beneath them, ensuring that their work was absolutely perfect. Needles were injected where they should have been, and not a hair off course; blood was drawn, DNA was altered, and everything was done as it should be before the owner of the hands finally pulled away from the still form of the Hollow it was working with. One hand reached up, wiping away red sweat soaked bangs, as the other pressed against a communicator in his ear.

"The twins Lumina and Verona have been completed, Szayel Aporro-sama," Luke announced into the communicator, sliding himself away from the operating table as another fracción came to wheel it out of the area. "They will be before Aizen-sama before the end of the hour," he continued, resting back against his chair and letting out a relieved noise he did not know he needed.

"Excellent work, fracción," came his master's voice, before he let out an amused noise. "You sound exhausted. How are you fairing?"

Luke flexed his hand, where part of a finger was still missing from earlier. "I suspect by the end of the day, my hand will be back to normal. It was a worthwhile risk, Szayel Aporro-sama. I regret nothing." He paused a moment, leaning forward against his tool tray with a sigh. "The only trouble is, all this work has made me rather hungry."

A soft snort came from the other end. "I'm not surprised. The numerós should be dining in the mess hall by now. You are free to join them; I will be in a meeting later, and will not require you until afterward."

"Many thanks, Szayel Aporro-sama," Luke replied, before reaching up to pull the communicator from his ear. The long, bone-like creation slithered out, curling around his hand reflexively before going limp, allowing him to rest it on his tool tray with a soft sigh. Work for his master was never dull, that much was certain, but still...

...he missed the days his master called him by name.

He was not as ignorant as he used to be, however; he understood why his master referred to him now by his status and not by name. His master was the Octava, eighth of the ten generals that led Aizen's army of arrancar. Szayel had earned that position with his brilliance, and he was not about to put it in jeopardy by referring to his subordinates like equals.

After a moment, Luke shook his head, standing up and cleaning up his station a bit, before starting his way down to the mess hall. It was pointless to mourn such things when the atmosphere in Las Noches was busier than he had ever seen it. With Aizen, Tousen, and Gin within the walls of the palace on a constant basis now that they had been forced to reveal themselves to Soul Society, the army was moving, and more and more was demanded of the lab. He had lost count of how many weapons he had repaired, how many experiments he had conducted, to the point where altering the DNA of a fellow Octava Fracción so that the hollow would heal Szayel when his master consumed them seemed like nothing.

It was not long before he was in line at the mess, waiting to choose a soul to consume with the other lesser arrancar. Most still gave him a wide berth when he was around, disgusted by the fact that a hybrid like him was allowed to traverse the halls of Las Noches. Luke, however, could not have cared any less; he had his master and he had his fellow fracción. What else could he possibly want?

"Oy, Luke!"

The blonde that suddenly threw an arm around his neck and dragged him into a half bear hug was certainly not one of the things he could have wanted.

"Grantz-san, _please,"_ he grumbled, trying to put a hand between himself and the rowdy blonde in a vain effort to push him off. Said blonde merely pulled him in closer, making him flail in exasperation.

"Oy, oy; don't act like that, bro!" he exclaimed. "I rarely ever get 'ta see 'ya!"

"There's a reason for that," Luke groused, finally managing to slip out of his grasp. "And I'm not the one that has the sad title of your 'bro,' Ilforte Grantz. Please refrain from referring to me as such."

The blonde, his master's elder brother, planted his hands on his hips, managing to look rather put off.

"That idiot's rubbing off on you too much, Luke," Ilforte grumbled, slapping a hand on the redhead's back and propelling him up through the line, forcing him to cut in with the rest of the fracción that were the blonde's friends. Luke let out a small sigh as one with part of his bone mask wrapped up, DeRoy, passed onto him what might have been a chicken in life, though he was not about to complain – he did still enjoy chicken most of all. Still, if his master knew he associated with these brutes...

He bit off a part of the head as the tallest of the group placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Luke," Shawlong began, "how long are you going to go without a number?"

"It is not my place to ask for one," Luke replied, managing to swallow first. "I was not created by Aizen-sama. I have no right to be given a title by him."

"But you still serve Aizen-sama," Shawlong replied. "You are still an arrancar in his army."

"Don't you mean a _halfling?"_

Luke nearly dropped his meal when he heard that voice, the other fracción not responding with nearly as much worry as he had. Why would they, after all? They were the direct subordinates of the blue haired wild man that was approaching, hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. Luke felt his insides twist, and he took a careful step back into Ilforte, who placed a hand on his shoulder, steadying him as the man stopped just inches away from him. He swallowed loudly, screwing up his courage.

"Sexta, I relate very much to the arrancar side of myself, thank you," Luke replied after a moment, drawing a loud bark of laughter from the man.

"Doesn't change what you are, brat," Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez replied, shaking his head. "You're still a human deep down in there."

Luke looked away as Ilforte's grip on his shoulder tightened.

"Aw, c'mon Grimmjow, that ain't fair!" the blonde protested. "He can't help what he was created to be. That idiot's a freak, we all know that."

The Sexta Espada let out an annoyed noise, waving a dismissive hand. "Whatever. A freak is a freak; the two of them deserve each other."

Silence hung in the air as Luke stood there, looking down at the dead creature in his hands as the Espada walked away. He could dimly hear Ilforte behind him murmuring something to his companions, before he felt his hand clap down on his shoulder again, steering him over to a table where they could sit and talk in private. Luke did not say a word as he sat down, looking at the chicken thing again, his appetite rather gone now. The blonde arrancar watched him for a moment, before letting out a sigh, reaching over and grasping his hands.

"Hey, bro; cheer up," he said. "It's not like it's your fault."

"Yes it is," Luke murmured softly. "I... I just want to be an arrancar. I just want to be accepted as one... I don't _see_ myself as human, why can't everyone else see the same?"

"Well, when in reality you're half food..." Ilforte began, earning himself a rather irate glare. "Look, it's the truth. Deny part of yourself all you want, you're still going to be you at the end of the day, and that's all people are going to see."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it, fingering a wing in his meal before reluctantly biting it off. The blonde let out a small sigh, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to think.

"Look, it ain't gonna be easy," he continued. "That idiot really screwed you up... he shoulda just left 'ya and let Hueco Mundo do the work instead of taking it on himself."

"Please don't," Luke interrupted before the other could continue. "I am very well aware of the fact that you dislike your brother, but your brother is still my master. Wrong in his choice or no, I still owe him my loyalty. Just as you would not appreciate comments toward the Sexta... please."

Ilforte held up as his hands. "All right, all right; I get it, get off the soapbox, bro!" he exclaimed, before letting his arms drop back to the table with a sigh. _"Che..._ you need to lighten up, man. Being cooped up in that lab all the time isn't good for fighting people like us!"

He shifted up and over, plopping himself on the table as he reached down, hooking an arm around Luke's neck.

"I know what'll help," he said, before dropping his voice down to a whisper. "We've got a special... task to accomplish tonight, we Sexta Fracción. You should come with."

"I doubt the Sexta would appreciate my presence," Luke replied, making a face as he tried to worm away from the Quince. Why did he always have to _touch_ him like that? He was not something to be hugged and abused like this.

"That's why you gotta go, bro!" Ilforte replied. "No one's going to cut you any slack if you just hide in the lab all the time and never show anyone what you're made of." He squeezed his shoulder, pulling him a little closer to him. "You're strong for what you are, really strong. But no one here has seen what you can do. C'mon, come with us!"

Luke let out a soft sigh; while he really wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous, part of him knew that he was right. Not only that, but... a part of him longed for the action, the fight that he had not had in a very long time. To agree to this would be defying his master, but...

He let out a soft sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. "I... can sneak out of the lab once my work is done."

Ilforte beamed, clapping both hands on his shoulders. "Excellent, bro! Just stick by me, and I'll make sure you get your crowning moment of glory!"

Luke managed a faint smile, but he could not help but be a little nervous. Just what kind of trouble was he getting himself into...?

~.oOOo.~

It was his first time traveling between Hueco Mundo and the real world, and Luke could not help but feel a little unsettled by it. The darkness around him seemed to want to swallow him whole, and while he knew if he just kept to the path and followed the others he would not have anything to worry about, it still bothered him. After a moment, however, Ilforte looked back at him, giving him an encouraging thumb up, before everyone stopped.

The darkness before them split open, like a mouth yawning wide, and the group of arrancar stepped out into the sky of the real world. Luke let out a soft noise, forcing himself to stay up like he was walking on the ground; it was his first time ever standing on air as well, and while he knew he was capable of it, it was yet another thing that set him ill at ease on this night.

"Yo!" came the Sexta's voice from a nearby rooftop. "Yer all here, hunh... even brought the trash with 'ya." Luke let out a disgruntled noise as Grimmjow continued, "You weren't seen, were 'ya?"

"This trash made certain that there was no surveillance at the gate at the time, Sexta," Luke replied curtly. "We also have no need to worry about the gargantuan guardians either."

Grimmjow let out a bark of laughter, standing up from his seat on the edge of the roof, before suddenly appearing in Luke's face. The fracción took a step back, unnerved as the Sexta loomed over him, a grin on his face like a cat playing with his prey.

"Trying to be a smart ass, kid?" he sneered. "Tell me the number of individuals with strong reiatsu out there."

Ilforte looked like he was going to protest, but Luke held out a hand to cut him off, closing his eyes. He shifted his focus inward, before flinging it out, his consciousness spreading through out the entire town.

"...I sense a number of individuals with untapped spiritual power," he reported calmly. "However, in the area there are quite a number of trained individuals... at least two of which are Captain-class shinigami. There are at least two lieutenants as well. The rest are below that."

Grimmjow sneered down at him, his gaze flicking to Shawlong. "Confirm that!"

The taller man nodded, closing his eyes for a brief moment, before nodding his head. "The boy is right. It appears Soul Society sent back up to the area."

Grimmjow backed off finally, looking irritated. "Tch... damn that Ulquiorra. If he had just killed the bastards..." he grumbled to himself, before looking between his five fracción and Luke. "Scatter through the area, and kill anyone with the least amount of reiatsu."

They were about to move, before Grimmjow stopped them, his hand snapping out to grab Luke's shoulder.

"Ilforte, I know it was you that wanted to bring the brat," he sneered. "Keep an eye on him."

Ilforte's arm went around Luke's shoulders as Grimmjow let go, drawing an exasperated sigh from the young man.

"You've got it, bro."

Luke had to shake Ilforte off before they started moving, exasperated as he insisted on holding onto him even as they started off into the city. It was a moment before he realized where they were heading, and Luke glanced over at the blonde, an irritated expression on his face.

"Ilforte, we are heading toward one of the lieutenants," he protested. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Ilforte glanced back at him, giving him a confident grin, before he stopped, that grin turning sly as he turned around.

"Correction, we're already there."

Luke stopped dead, following Ilforte's gaze to a young man in shinigami robes, flaming red hair pulled back in a high ponytail and spiked out, making him look almost like a red pineapple. His zanpakutō was already in the shikai stage, and he could already tell that the blade was segmented, each piece marked by a protruding blade.

No sooner did the three opponents meet, however, did the feeling of one of their number suddenly wink out. Luke let out an alarmed noise, glancing back in the direction that the arrancar's reiatsu disappeared.

"DeRoy-kun..." he murmured. "He's—"

"Yeah, I know, bro," Ilforte replied, sounding serious for the first time since Luke had known him. "Tch... that idiot begs us to take him along, and when we do, he doesn't take this seriously..."

"Hey, what are you looking off at?!" the pineapple shinigami they had met up with shouted. The man reared his sword back, before flicking it forward, the segments coming apart as he yelled its command. Ilforte did not even bother to turn around; flinging his arm out to beat the attack away, like the man had thrown paper at him instead of a sword.

"Remember, Luke," Ilforte continued, "even if someone gives you great power, 'ya can't polish a turd. If 'ya survive here today, it just proves that no matter what you are, you're still better than that."

Luke blinked in surprise, before managing a smile. "...thanks."

The pineapple man let out an annoyed noise. "Don't know what the hell you two are babblin' about, but you came here for a fight, and now you're ignorin' me," he growled, retracting his sword, an arrogant smirk appearing on his face. "Well, I'm gonna make you focus now, understand?!

_"Bankai!"_


	7. Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

The red pineapple shinigami was gasping for breath, the snake-like creature that his Bankai had become curling around him protectively as he struggled to get a hold of himself. Luke and Ilforte, however, were completely fine; neither of them had needed to put much effort in fighting against this supposed vice captain class shinigami – Ilforte had not even yet draw his blade. The blonde seemed quite confident in the fact that the fight was going so well… but Luke was not so certain. He frowned deeply as he flung his senses out, trying to get a better sense of the individual they were facing.

"Grantz-san," he murmured, "he's holding back... he has to be. Please be careful."

Ilforte just let out a disinterested noise as the redhead reared back, before flinging out the snake-like creature, the bone segments unwrapping from around him. The blonde arrancar drew his sword that time, blocking the fanged teeth of the snake-skull head with little effort. Luke did not waste the opportunity, disappearing with a burst of static, only to reappear by the pineapple shinigami's side. He got to see the man's eyes widen in surprise as his sword swung down, before a loop of the long snake creature came up, blocking his attack.

The distraction was enough, however; it gave Ilforte time to deflect the head, using sonído to get close to the shinigami. His sword came down on the pineapple man within the next moment, leaving a massive gash behind on his chest. Both arrancar retreated after, Ilforte laughing the whole way.

"That's it, bro?" he demanded. "That's your Bankai? And you're a vice captain?! What a joke!"

Ilforte flung his sword out to his side, crouching down into an attack stance.

"Time to finish this, bro!"

Luke braced himself, ready to follow Ilforte's lead... when he felt something off. He glanced around, noticing whatever it was coming closer, but he could not actually see it...

...and then it was _behind them._

"Ilforte!" he shouted, flinging himself backwards.

The blonde, however, was not so lucky. He turned around at Luke's shout, only to be treated to a foot slamming into his face and knocking him clean across the air several feet. It was a moment before he could get himself to stop skidding along the air, growling at the... _thing_ that had hit him. The creature's form was that of a little solemn faced girl, but to have so much power as to send an arrancar of Ilforte's level flying backwards with such little effort...

"Monster..." Luke murmured, "what the hell are you?!"

The girl turned toward him, the vacant look in her eyes drawing an awkward noise from Luke. She suddenly surged forward to attack him, but before she could reach him, Ilforte was there between them, blocking her attack with his sword.

"Grantz-san!" Luke protested.

"Shuddap," Ilforte snapped back at him. "You don't have a chance in hell blocking this ch—gack!"

At that moment, the girl's other hand snapped up, grabbing Ilforte about the neck. The arrancar gagged, struggling to breathe as the girl spoke too low for Luke to hear... before a sudden explosion burst from her hand. Luke was sent skidding backward, his sword and his arm raised to protect his face, and traveling a good few feet before he was finally able to stop.

The smoke from the explosion slowly cleared, revealing Ilforte gasping for breath, his face charred and bloody. He snarled in rage, lifting his zanpakutō.

"I'll fucking _murder you,_ you stupid brat!" he snapped. "Skewer, Del Toro!"

Another burst of smoke engulfed Ilforte, obscuring him from view. Luke, however, was wise enough to back away, knowing full well what was coming... and no sooner did he do so, did a pale white horn suddenly jut out from the smoke, impaling the little girl in the chest. The blonde lifted his head from the smoke, leaving the pineapple shinigami to stare in shock as the little girl dangled limply from Ilforte's horn.

"You have 'what the hell is that' written all over your face, shinigami," Ilforte sneered from behind the bull-shaped mask that encased his head. The smoke cleared fully, revealing that the blonde's upper body had expanded, forcing him to hunch over, much like the animal who's face he now wore. "This is how we arrancar release our zanpakutō, bro!"

Ilforte flung his head back, the little girl flying off of the horn he had impaled her with, before he inclined his head toward Luke.

"Oy, you too," he said. "Release your zanpakutō!"

Luke frowned slightly, before turning away. "...I cannot. I was ordered not to release my zanpakutō unless necessary. With your own released... it should not be necessary."

Ilforte let out an annoyed noise, but before he could respond, a boy suddenly shot up, catching the little girl's body as it flew through the air and charging straight for the blonde bull. He swung a massive mallet down on Ilforte's head, one about the same size as he was... but Ilforte barely blinked at the lame attack. The pineapple shinigami struck out at that moment, the bone segments of his Bankai slamming against the bull's face, getting pierced by the sharp pale horns.

"Run kid!" he ordered, as Ilforte started laughing again. The bull lunged forward, breaking the segments of the Bankai and spearing the shinigami with a horn. Blood dripped down the pale horn as the shinigami went flying back, blood flying from where he had been stabbed.

"In your last moments, I'll let you know my name, bro!" Ilforte sneered. "Arrancar quince, Ilforte Grantz!"

The pineapple shinigami finally came to a stop in the air, gasping for breath... before he suddenly smirked, a hand going to his robes, shoving them aside to reveal a strange flower tattoo on his chest.

"Heh... finally," he muttered under his breath. "I was gettin' tired of letting myself be kicked around by crap like you."

Spiritual pressure suddenly rushed out of the shinigami's body in a massive wave, to the point where it engulfed him in a blinding white light. Luke faltered where he stood, gasping for air as the pressure suddenly became intense, much more than what he had become accustomed to from the shinigami.

"The fuck is...?" Ilforte began, backing up to stand protectively in front of Luke as the light finally died down. No sooner did he come to a stop did a sudden explosion go off in his face... and he found himself missing his blood stained horn as the shinigami revealed himself again, standing tall and proud without a mark on him.

"I hate it when I'm right..." Luke murmured. "Ilforte, his reiatsu is much, much stronger than it was before!"

"I can _sense that!"_ Ilforte snapped, just as the snake head of the shinigami's Bankai came toward him again. His hands came up to block the attack... only this time he found himself skidding back, one of the fang piercing his arm. He snarled in irritation, before his eyes widened, seeing a reddish light starting to form in the throat of the creature...

_"Hikou Taihou!"_

Ilforte flung himself away at the last second, but it was still too late, and the resulting blast sheared his injured arm clear off. The blond scrambled, trying to regain his footing in the air, as the two of them could hear the command to retreat being shouted by Shawlong in the distance.

"Move it, bro!" Ilforte shouted to Luke. He hesitated a moment, looking over to the shinigami, before running after the other arrancar as fast as he could.

"Like I'll let you get away...!"

Luke turned again, the bone segments of the shinigami's Bankai brushing past him hard enough to send him spinning through the air. He hit a building hard enough to leave a dent and fell...

...just in time to see Ilforte annihilated in a massive blast.

His eyes widened as he watched what was left of the blonde fall toward the ground in smoldering chunks, before his remains turned to dust and blew away in the wind. He hit the concrete in the next moment with a painful _crack,_ splintering the sidewalk. The parts of his body that were still human screamed in protest at the abuse, but he ignored it, hearing the shinigami hitting the pavement not long after, gasping for breath.

Luke struggled to his feet, his rage making his chest ache where his void was as he started toward the shinigami, one hand clutching at his sword as the other clutched at his chest. This bastard... this bastard had killed Ilforte... had killed his only friend...!

_"Howl—!"_

A hand on his shoulder stopped him cold just as the pineapple shinigami turned toward him. Luke felt his breath freeze in his throat as he gazed at the dark skinned hand on his shoulder, following it up to the man's face.

"T...Tousen-sama..." he murmured softly.

"Enough, Luke," Tousen said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Sheathe your sword. Your master would be upset with you if you died too."

Luke let out a small noise of protest, before looking away and complying with Tousen's command. The former shinigami's hand slid to his back, and he allowed himself to be turned around...

...but not before giving the pineapple shinigami one last hateful glare, before he was guided into a guarganta and motioned along home...

~.oOOo.~

"Welcome home, Grimmjow."

Aizen's voice echoed through the massive chamber, sending a chill down Luke's spine. He was standing just off to the side, his gaze down to the floor and trying not to flinch at the least little movement that came from the throne high above him. Directly under it, Grimmjow was standing behind Tousen, looking as nonchalant as uncaring as always. Out of the seven of them, they were the only two to survive, and he the only one to have only minor injuries. Though Grimmjow carried himself as if the massive cut on his chest and stomach did not bother him, Luke could already tell that if he did not see someone to have it healed, it would scar over terribly, in addition to wherever he was bleeding from on his head.

A long pause followed Aizen's welcome, before Tousen spoke.

"Well, have you nothing to say for yourself, Grimmjow?"

The Sexta did not even turn to look at the former shinigami. "Not a damn thing."

Tousen let out a displeased noise, a hand resting on his sword, but Aizen's words cut him off.

"It's all right, Kaname," he began. "I'm not upset. I feel that Grimmjow's actions were indicative of a rare loyalty and desire to serve. Is that not so, Grimmjow?"

There was a very pregnant pause, and Luke could feel the air around them growing heavier before the Sexta replied.

"Yeah, that's right."

Tousen's hand suddenly snapped out, grabbing Grimmjow by the collar and making Luke nearly jump out of his skin.

"Aizen-sama, allow me to execute this man!"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "A personal grudge... isn't it?" he sneered. "Don't think a commanding officer's supposed 'ta have that kind of attitude."

"I have no desire to tolerate those that sow discord," Tousen replied, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, before slowly drawing it. "Endangering the lives of six arrancar... your actions may have been 'just' to some, but justice without cause only calls for slaughter. However... that same slaughter with a cause... with a great cause..."

Tousen trialed off... and in the next moment his sword swung out from its sheath completely, the blade slicing straight through Grimmjow's arm.

"...is justice."

It took a moment for the Sexta to process what happened, but when the pain finally reached his brain he screamed, clutching the bleeding stump that was left of his arm. A chill went through Luke's body, but he was too afraid to move, especially as Tousen turned, flinging a kidou at the arm that burnt it to ashes in a blink.

"You bastard!" Grimmjow bellowed, his other arms swinging to attack.

"Stop, Grimmjow," Aizen's calm voice came from upon his throne, making the Espada come to a fast halt. "If you were to attack Tousen here, I would have no reason to pardon you."

The Sexta held his attack pose for a long moment... before he let out an irritated growl, turning away and storming from the chamber. Luke turned, following him with his eyes, wanting to run after him...

"What of the boy?"

...and he froze before he could, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he turned back to Aizen's throne. The former shinigami returned his fearful gaze with cool, dispassionate eyes, before he smirked, waving a dismissive hand. Luke felt his breath rush out of him at once, and he bowed to them both, before running from the chamber, his heart still beating loudly in his chest.

It was not long before he caught up to Grimmjow, and the Sexta stopped as he heard him approach, glancing at him, his expression unreadable as the redhead paused, gasping for air.

"P-please, allow me, Sexta," he said, raising a hand to the bleeding stump. He drew Seventh Fonons to his hand, mixing them together with his reiatsu, before focusing it outward, to Grimmjow's injuries. Gradually, the resulting healing power made the bleeding slow, before it stopped all together, leaving the stump to quickly heal over.

"I-I'm sorry," he murmured breathlessly, finally stopping as soft pink tissue started to form. "I cannot re-grow limbs, otherwise I..."

Grimmjow started away as he trailed off, keeping his face away from Luke. After a moment, however, he stopped, his hand sliding into a pocket.

"...good job, kid," he murmured faintly, before continuing on his way. "Maybe it's a good thing yer a halfling."

~.oOOo.~

Luke was the only one of the Octava fracción that had his own personal quarters, mostly due to the fact that his still partially human body required more sleep then his fellows. He was grateful for that now as he curled up at the head of his bed, resting his head against his knees. Despite being spared by Aizen, despite the praise he received from Grimmjow, it did not keep Ilforte's death from playing over and over again in his head. He shook, struggling not to sob, as he could not afford to have his master hear him sobbing over his brother's death. That did not keep the tears from soaking into his pants, however...

The door suddenly opened, and he jerked his head away from it, knowing full well who it was. He swiped a hand furiously at his face, trying to get the tears to go away as the door closed again, and the sound of footsteps approached his bed.

"S-Szayel Aporro-sama," he began, "please forgive me. I'll accept whatever punishment you—"

He cut himself off could as a hand rested on his head, fingers gently running through his short hair. Luke froze, not sure how to take it, before hazarding a glance up at his master. Szayel's face was expressionless, but… he could almost see something like pity hidden behind his eyes...

...and Luke broke at the sight of it.

He bit his lip, struggling against it, before finally wrapping his arms around his master's waist, burying his face against his stomach and sobbing his frail human heart out. Szayel did not say a word, merely continuing to run his fingers through his hair until Luke finally cried himself to sleep.


	8. Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Luke felt rather uncomfortable as he stood beside his master, looking around at all of the other Espada in the room. He was the only fracción there, and while he did not want the others to see how nervous he was, he wanted nothing more than to hide behind Szayel and pretend that he was not really there. At the center of the room, a hollow was trapped in a protective barrier, wrapped up so they could not see the creature's face or body very well, and standing before it was Aizen, calmly waiting for the last of the Espada to arrive. In his hand he could just make out something glowing darkly, and the longer he looked at the strange glow, the more he felt like he wanted to run in terror.

"Szayel Aporro-sama?" he finally asked softly, getting his master to incline his head toward him slightly so he could better hear him. "Why did you bring me here as well?"

Szayel looked slightly amused as he responded. "For the lesser arrancar, this is something only seen once in their lives. You have not had the pleasure."

His master's sarcasm was carefully masked, but Luke could pick up on it easily enough, and that just set him even more ill at ease. He already did not want to be here, but after hearing that...

"Oh-ho~? So this is the little halfling everyone gets so up in arms about~?"

Luke's thoughts came to a grinding stop at the voice that suddenly came from beside him, and he turned... only to have the face of a sneering young man (or was it a woman?) directly in front of him. He let out a startled yelp, giving into instinct and darting to the other side of his master, clinging to the Octava's coat. Szayel let out a very put upon sigh, but the only woman in the room – the Tres Espada – beat him to admonishing them.

"Luppi, the boy is uneasy enough amongst us," Tia Harribel said coolly. The young man, Luppi, just shrugged indifferently, hopping over to a seat and lounging back as Tia's eyes focused on Luke. "Please be at ease, boy. There is nothing here you need fear."

Luke thought otherwise, glancing at the new Espada as the young man yawned lazily, the long sleeves of his coat flopping onto his face, but he refrained from saying so. Instead, he forced himself to let go of his master, bowing and murmuring a soft apology.

Through it all, Aizen had not moved an inch, and in fact looked quite amused by all the chattering back and forth. Szayel had kept his eyes on him, displeased; he had hated his own rebirth as an arrancar and he hated watching other hollows being brought about in such a way. Not that he was not pleased to have the power that he now had, but the process made his scientific instinct swell in rage.

At that moment, the doors to the chamber opened, and the small form of the Cuarto was almost completely dwarfed by the hulking mass of the Décimo behind him. Aizen moved then, glancing back to the two Espada.

"Ah, you made it. We were just finishing up."

Ulquiorra descended the stairs into the chamber first, his expression as emotionless as ever. His large companion – Yammy – looked more like he was just walking into a party, a stupid grin on his face that caused Luke to shuffle closer to his master to hide his disgust. Who could be so happy over something like this?

"What is the status of the Hōgyoku's awakening?" Ulquiorra asked as Aizen set the darkly glowing thing atop the barrier the Hollow was encased in. Luke stared at the small sphere, carefully contained in a open cube glass case, the feeling of unease deep in the pit of his stomach growing worse.

"Right on schedule, as far as Soul Society is concerned anyway," Aizen replied, a smirk coming to his face. "Of course, those that have never held it in their hand wouldn't understand."

Aizen reached into the class case, and Luke started to feel something other than his heart pounding loudly in his chest. He clutched at it, trying not to squirm uncomfortably as small tendrils from the Hōgyoku reached up to Aizen's fingers, curling around them, before all of Luke's senses felt like they exploded as the small sphere let out a brilliant light. The barrier that the Hollow was in cracked and fractured under the strain of the power on top of it, before it shattered entirely, tinkling to the ground before disappearing. A faint heaving noise came from the Hollow, and as the light faded, they could all see the creature's new face.

"Can you tell us your name, our new comrade?"

The boy looked up at Aizen as he spoke, blonde hair poking out from beneath a mask that had taken the shape of a princely tiara.

"...Wonderweiss. Wonderweiss... Margera..."

~.oOOo.~

Luke was silent as they left the chamber, and Szayel could not help but cast an amused glance toward him. The disgusted look on his face really spoke volumes, but he still waited until the others had dispersed before he asked the obvious question:

"What did you think of that display, fracción?"

The redhead paused, giving his master something akin to a pout. "...it was disgusting."

Szayel let out an amused snort, before he paused, realizing Luke was still clutching at his chest... over the spot where the void was. He was about to say something, when an arm concealed by a long sleeve suddenly draped over Luke's shoulders. The redhead jumped at the sudden invasion of his personal space, turning a glare to the arm's owner.

"Oh ho~?" Luppi began. "Something the matter, little half-arrancar?"

"...kindly unhand me, Luppi," he _ordered_ the Espada, something that made Szayel raise an eyebrow. Luke was never so cold to someone of a higher rank than himself...

Luppi pouted at him, waving his other sleeve lazily. "How cruel; just because I'm a better Sexta than that fool Grimmjow..."

Szayel narrowed his eyes in distaste at the new Espada, and was about to say something when Luke beat him to it. His fracción raised his hand, smacking Luppi's hand off of him with a sharp crack, stepping away from him as he glared down at him, his gaze as cold as his voice.

"You will never be half the man that Grimmjow is, let alone better as the Sexta Espada."

The carefree grin on Luppi's face faltered for a moment, before the androgynous young man tossed his head back and laughed, covering his mouth with one of his oversized sleeves.

"How amusing!" he exclaimed. "Why ever would an Octava fracción care about trash like Grimmjow?"

Luke's hand came up, resting on the hilt of his sword as he narrowed his eyes. "...a friend of mine... someone that believed in me, also believed in Grimmjow. With his death, I'll inherit that belief and carry it in his memory."

Luppi brought his head back down, returning his gaze. "I see... so trash will inherit the will of trash and become even more disgusting. That certainly makes sense."

Szayel barely had time to blink before Luke's sword was swinging out of its sheath, clanging loudly as it hit Luppi's raised arm. He let out an amused laugh, before flinging the redhead away, sending him skidding to a stop some distance down the hallway. Szayel was by his fracción's side in a moment, a hand coming down on his shoulder as Luke straightened.

"Luke," he began his voice a soft, dangerous hiss, "stop this now. I have no desire to see my experiment splattered on the walls of Las Noches."

"I don't care," Luke replied, his grip tightening on his sword. "I must have this master... he... he's just like Sync..."

Szayel's lips were posed to ask just who the hell that was supposed to be, before Luke darted out of his grasp, heading straight for Luppi. The new Sexta humored him, blocking his attacks effortlessly, preferring to fight with his fists and his feet over his sword, much like Grimmjow before him. The androgynous young man laughed sadistically as they fought... and the scene before him seemed to slow down, a mental image overlaying itself over the two combatants. Szayel could literally see Luke when he was human, fighting with all his strength against a green haired youth. Words were exchanged between the two of them, words he could not hear, but whatever was said made them both fight harder than before. His eyes were on his fracción however, the determination on his face hiding a look of sadness... the same sadness he had when he had slaughtered the arrancar before Aizen.

"Luke..." he began softly, "you..."

Luke suddenly went flying backwards, and the mental image was shattered as the present day Luke hit a wall with a deafening crack, blood trickling out from the corner of his mouth. Despite that, though, he still struggled to his feet, clutching at his chest with his right hand as his grip on his sword tightened. A pulse was ringing through the corridor, coming from the void that in his chest. If this kept up...

The fracción raised his sword to unleash his resurrección, as sonído brought Szayel before him. His hand came down in the next instant, cracking across his face with a deafening _snap,_ followed by a clang as Luke dropped his sword in surprise. The redhead looked up at him, a shaking hand going up to his bare cheek, shocked that his master had struck him, and cowering under the powerful glare on Szayel's face.

"How soon you forget your orders, fracción," he hissed softly, setting his foot atop Luke's sword. "Return to the lab; I will deal with you later."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but the words died before they even reached his throat. He bowed his head submissively, before turning and starting on his way toward the labs, not using sonído, which brought a small bit of relief to Szayel's face. The boy tended to abuse that particular ability, even though his body could not completely compensate for it; he did not want to imagine the kind of damage it would do in his current state.

"How kind of you to finally step in," Luppi sneered behind him.

Szayel glanced at him over his shoulder, disinterested. "My fracción are not meant to play with trash."

~.oOOo.~

It was a bit of time before Szayel could return to the sanctuary of his laboratory, having been called away to hear orders given to the Espada. There was not much for him to do outside of the usual, however; most of the burden of the next mission fell on the brat Luppi as well as Yammy. Dealing with the various egos of his fellows was getting to be tiresome, and he looked forward to drowning himself in his work for awhile.

Unfortunately, before he could even get to his lab, the rotund twins Verona and Lumina waddled up to him, jumping up and down in a panic.

"Szayel Aporro-sama!" cried Verona.

"Szayel Aporro-sama!" Lumina echoed.

"Something bad!"

"Bad, bad, very bad!"

Szayel let out an exasperated sigh, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "Now what?"

"Luke! Collapsed outside lab!"

"Collapsed! Collapsed!"

Szayel felt his breath freeze in his throat, eyes widening. No... "Did you move him?!" he demanded, a little more forcefully than he intended.

"Couldn't," Verona replied. "Bad, bad energy coming from him."

"Bad, bad," Lumina agreed. "Very bad, bad."

Szayel did not wait to hear more from the twin arrancar, and found himself quickly moving down the halls faster than he ever dared to sonído before, in the direction of Luke's dangerously fluctuating reiatsu. He found him where Lumina and Verona said he would be, unconscious as dangerous waves of energy flooded from his prone form, starting from his chest. Swearing under his breath, Szayel carefully approached, wrapping an arm around him and carefully turning him over onto his back. Other than a bruise mark on his forehead from when he finally collapsed, Luke looked relatively unhurt, but the energy from the void was pressing against his chest, creating a small, vibrating lump. No doubt his rib cage had already shattered, and Szayel swore again, realizing his mistake in turning him over. Still, he could not operate on him like this, and he let out a faint sigh, drawing his sword.

He was going to need more hands for this.

The transformation was quick, there was no need for flair in this instance, and before long he was resting his feet on the ground, keeping his tentacles out instead of withdrawing them as he usually did. Carefully, he reached out with them, gently wrapping around Luke's form and lifting him up, keeping him straight on his back as he hoisted him up. When he was certain Luke was stable, he started toward the door, angling the boy in first, before entering behind him. Thankfully, it was just a quick shot to an examination table after that, and he rested the unconscious boy on it carefully.

Szayel let out a breath he did not realize he was holding as he withdrew his tentacles, returning to his sealed state so he could work properly. He went immediately to his tools, wheeling over a table and setting to work instantly... though as soon as he pressed a scalpel to where the void was growing, it snapped in half, the energy far too intense for mundane tools.

Swearing even more, he grabbed another scalpel and started cutting around the lump in his chest this time, mindful of cutting too deep, least he accidentally nick something vital. When he finally cut a circle around the void, he pulled the skin off... only to see that Luke's insides were a mess. Fragments of bone were everywhere, along with pieces of rib bones dangerously close to vital organs. The machine he had made to control the void was no where to be seen, no doubt completely obliterated when the _thing_ began to expand like it did.

"Dammit..." Szayel murmured again, though he froze as Luke began to stir, his eyes slowly opening.

"...S-Szayel... Aporro...s-sama..." he whimpered, his voice sounding heart wrenchingly weak. Szayel reached down, gently running his fingers through his hair, letting out a soothing noise before he even realized what he was doing.

"Relax, Luke," he murmured. "It will be okay."

Luke smiled softly at the use of his name, reaching up to grasp his hand. "...it hurts... my soul... being torn apart..."

"I know, I know," he said softly, giving his hand a squeeze, before resting it back down beside him. "Rest, I will fix this."

Luke nodded weakly, resting his head back again as Szayel poked around inside of him, trying to find some piece of the machine he had made so he could at least have a clue what happened.

"Started... H-Hōgyoku..."

The Hōgyoku... the energy from the Hōgyoku must have stimulated the void, making it go berserk. It would most likely also be able to reverse the effects, but he could not ask Aizen to use that damnable thing again, and on his experiment; it had been his idea to bring Luke in the first place. He was going to have to take responsibility for his own mistake.

"Luke, keep talking," he ordered, hurrying over to where he had only one sample of sekki sekki rock left. He held it in his hands, carefully rolling it about as he tried to think.

"About what...?"

"About how this happened," he ordered, starting to pull out circuit boards. "Give me your analysis."

Luke was silent a moment, and for a moment Szayel almost turned around, afraid his body finally gave out, before he finally started speaking.

"...think it responds to emotion..." he replied, his voice faint. The scientist nodded to himself, relieved, starting to work. So it seemed to be the case; he had not factored emotions in his analysis before. "Felt it... getting worse... when I fought Luppi..."

Szayel nodded as Luke kept speaking, drifting off from the topic of his analysis eventually to something completely random that happened in the lab the other night. The Espada could not help but smile at that, his fingers moving deftly over the circuit board. By the time he started working on the enclosure, Luke had shifted over to being dragged into panty raiding the women's bathing room while Ilforte was still alive. He knew all about _that_ incident of course – the screams from the women could be heard all throughout the complex. How the two of them had not been caught...

He wiped his brow when he finally finished the new seal that would keep the void from continuing to expand, and he held up the spherical construction. This would not only do what the previous machine did, but it would keep the void completely enclosed, and once it seemed as if something would fail, a signal would be sent to his portable computer.

Szayel approached Luke, who fell silent at the sight of the strange contraption, but did not comment, a hopeful look in his eyes. The Espada managed a faint smile for his fracción, before placing the device on the void. It crackled angrily, energy shooting out everywhere in black streams and stressing the sekki sekki rock to its limit. Finally, though, it started to shrink down, until it was to the point where he could safely seal the enclosure.

A breath of relief escaped from the both of them at once, and they both paused, amusement coming to their faces. Szayel reached over, leaning over his fracción so he could rest his forehead against his.

"Stop scaring me like this, you foolish boy," he murmured as Luke reached up, resting his hand weakly on his shoulder.

"Szayel Aporro-sama... can I have my ribs back now?" Luke asked faintly, drawing a soft snort of laughter from the scientist.

"Yes... yes, I'll get to work on that right now."


	9. Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Luke was still very weak after everything that happened, not that this was not expected. The entire front of his ribcage had to be completely reconstructed, as well as the muscle and tissue that had also been damaged in the explosion. Szayel had worked tirelessly through the night to do all he could, until finally Luke's own healing abilities could take over for him. The scientist stayed with him afterwards, laying beside him on his bed and watching him as he slept despite the work he had to do, and all he could hear in his head as he ran his fingers lightly through the young man's hair was the voice of that other redhead.

_Tch... why would you care as much as you do about that worthless dreck?_

"Because..." he finally answered as Luke let out a soft sound in his sleep, shuffling closer to Szayel, "he's mine now... my child, my human, my arrancar. He's the first thing I could ever say was really my own..."

The voice finally seemed to quiet at that, and the only sound that filled his ears was that of Luke breathing softly.

~.oOOo.~

"Good 'ta see you roamin' around again, kid."

Luke jumped at the familiar voice from his position in the line for food, turning in surprise. Grimmjow was behind him, smirking like he used to before his fracción died... with both hands tucked into his pockets. The redhead's expression brightened and he broke his position in line to hurry over to him.

"Grimmjow, your arm!" he exclaimed. "How...?"

"Heh," was the only reply he got, before Grimmjow slipped his new left arm out from its pocket, tossing him something. Luke caught it easily, blinking in surprise as he turned over the pale white hair clip. He had seen this before... and then his eyes widened as it clicked.

Luppi's bone mask.

"From what I heard, 'ya got in a bit of a tiff with that bastard," Grimmjow continued, turning his back to Luke, so he could see the massive numerical six tattoo returned to his back. "You can say we're even now, kid."

Luke's fingers brushed over the cold bone, lightly trailing over the three teeth, a slow smirk coming to his face. This was probably the first and only time he would ever be glad to receive something so girly.

"Thanks, Se—"

His words were cut off when a massive amount of pressure suddenly came crashing down all around them. Luke gasped, clutching at his chest as the void within him stirred at the immense spiritual pressure and the other arrancar around them shouted in surprise. He looked back to Grimmjow, about to ask what was going on, but the words died when he saw the expression on the Sexta's face; a look of absolute glee.

_"He's here."_

~.oOOo.~

"It appears we have some intruders."

Szayel was casually leaning back in his seat, at the oval table where the Espada gathered every day for meetings. Outwardly he was very relaxed as he reported on the disturbances detected out in the desert, but inwardly his stomach was in a twist, his nerves shot. It did not help that his fellows did not seem the least bit bothered by the fact that just hours before, a ridiculous spiritual presence had just flattened some of the weaker individuals.

"Underground Tunnel Number Twenty-two has just recently collapsed," he continued. "It's safe to say that the garganta guardians there have also been utterly obliterated."

"Isn't that quite far from here?" asked Baraggan beside him, the former king of Las Noches reclining in his seat like it was his old throne.

_"Che,"_ Nnoitra sneered from across the way, the chains of Santa Teresa clanging loudly as he thumped into his seat. "It would'a been much more interestin' if they jest popped up in the throne room."

All conversation came to a sudden sharp halt as the doors to the room creaked open, and their three lords and masters entered the room. Szayel's gaze turned to Aizen, noting the casual smirk on the man's face as he spoke.

"Good morning, Espada. We've been attacked by the enemy. Though first I suppose we should warm up some tea."

The other Espada seemed amused by Aizen's lack of concern about the situation, though Szayel hid a frown, quietly accepting his cup when it was handed to him by a servant. Aizen did not seem the least bit concerned about the situation... did that mean there was really nothing to fear, or...?

Tea was served, and most had already taken a few sips by the time Aizen spoke again, calling everyone's attention to the center of the table. At a lever pulled by Tousen, a projection rose onto the table, showing them all the three intruders that had invaded the sanctuary of the hollow world. Szayel could already see Grimmjow shifting in his seat, anxious as the names of the individuals were announced. No doubt one of them was the one responsible for that ridiculous scar on his chest.

"What is this?" Baraggan demanded. "You said we had an enemy attack. These three are just _kids."_

"Do not underestimate them," Aizen replied calmly. "These three, along with the girl that has been brought to us, invaded Soul Society and made fools of the Gotei Thirteen."

_And also forced you to expose yourself,_ Szayel added mentally, his mind calculating quickly. Something was going on here... something they weren't being told about...

"So they came 'ta rescue their friend," Nnoitra sneered. "Isn't that sweet."

The bantering went back and forth between a few of the others, and Grimmjow attempted to leave, but Szayel's mind was elsewhere. The individuals that had invaded Soul Society, that forced Aizen to show his hand, where here in Las Noches to recover the friend that had been kidnapped during the now deceased Luppi's mission to Earth. They would most likely do anything to get her back, and it was not because of her special powers or the fact that it was "wrong" that she was in their possession. It was because the woman was in Las Noches, and not safe with them.

He knew... because he had someone he felt the same way about.

_Luke... would not stand a chance against that kind of power..._

"As you can see," Aizen continued, bringing Szayel back to the meeting, "we have three enemies. While there is no need to underestimate them, there is no need to create uproar either. Please return to your rooms and act as if everything is normal."

Stay in their rooms? Act as if nothing was wrong? He could not do that... he could not just do nothing...

He had something to protect.

~.oOOo.~

Curiosity was a dangerous thing for Luke, but he could not help himself at the moment. Since he had gotten better, he had felt a... _strange_ presence somewhere in Las Noches, one that had not been there before he had been injured. He tried to tell himself that it was nothing he had any right to concern himself with, but a nagging feeling kept him from getting any work done. So, he quietly slipped out of the lab, despite the fact that his master was still in a meeting, and went exploring.

Finally, after a good hour of searching, his persistence paid off with an open door leading to the source of the strange presence. Curiously, his heart pounding in his chest, he peered inside... and his breath caught in his throat. A young woman was inside, her back to him as she gazed up at the eternal moon of Hueco Mundo outside the window above her. A flowing dress in the colors of Aizen's arrancar was draped about her form, and perhaps it was a trick of the moonlight, but that with her long hair made her look like...

"...Tear?" he breathed, hope fluttering up in his chest.

The woman gasped in surprise at the sudden noise, turning around... and Luke's heart dived to his shoes as he realized he was wrong. While her height (and her bust) was certainly similar to Tear's, everything else was completely off. He closed his eyes to hide his disappointment, shaking his head as he held up his hands.

"...forgive me," he began. "From behind, you looked like someone I know."

She remained where she was, staring at him strangely. Luke paused a moment, before bowing, about to take his leave...

"Um..." the woman finally began. "Are you... human too?"

Luke paused, twitching slightly at being referred to as human. "...partially, yes," he answered softly.

She took a step forward at that, looking anxious. "Please... stay a moment?"

He hesitated, before turning back to her, nodding. After a moment, he reached a hand out to her, offering a bit of a smile.

"I'm Luke fon Fabre."

"Inoue Orihime," she replied softly, accepting his hand. She held onto his hand, looking down at the gloved fingers in mild surprise. "...you feel so warm, but... so cold at the same time."

Luke tilted his head curiously, wondering what that was supposed to mean. "Is that bad?"

"No," Inoue replied, shaking her head. "Just... unusual. Though... I've never seen anyone that's half human, half hollow before."

"My master made me this way," Luke said, a bit of a smile tugging at his lips. "I owe him everything."

"Your master? Aizen?"

Luke shook his head. "No, the Octava Espada."

Inoue paused at that, looking away, though she could not hide the fear on her face. He supposed to a human that was familiar with hollows would find the thought of an arrancar making another arrancar frightening.

"Why?" she finally asked, her voice soft and trembling. "Why would you let something like that happen?"

Luke paused at that, frowning privately. "I... didn't have much of a choice at the time," he answered. "I was... rather against everything when I was a human. All I wanted was to go home, to Auldrant."

"Auldrant?" she asked.

"Yes; another planet, very different from Earth."

Inoue's eyes widened. "You're... from another planet?"

Luke nodded... and suddenly he found himself face to face with the woman, as she peered right in his eyes. He jerked back a bit at the sudden closeness, trying not to freak out as she suddenly reached up, pulling at his cheeks.

"You don't look like a little green man..." she murmured, drawing an exasperated noise from Luke.

"I'm not some kind of monster!" he protested, his voice sounding as stretched as his cheeks.

Inoue finally let go of him, looking a bit apologetic. "Do you still miss it? Your home?"

Luke reached up, rubbing his cheeks as he thought about it. "I... do," he said softly. He hesitated a moment, before settling down on the couch in the room. "There are times when I go to sleep... I can see myself living in the mansion at my home, with Tear – the woman I mistook you for – and we have a happy, peaceful life, and I know that's how things might have been if I had not come here. Then... there are other times where I dream of Natalia... of the princess living in the palace with her prince, ruling over a peaceful world, and... I know that's how things really are."

He smiled sadly, looking up to her. "I can't... I can't break that peace, even if it leaves Tear alone. So... I'm happy with the way things are now."

Inoue looked sad, and she settled down on the couch beside him, grasping his hands. "I'm sure that she knows you're still alive," she said softly. "I'm sure she knows that you think of her, and that you're okay."

Luke looked down as her hands over his, a bit of a smile coming to his face. "...I hope you're right..."

She gave him an encouraging smile, and was about to reply, when she suddenly stiffened in fear, her mouth clamping closed. Luke glanced over at her curiously, before following her gaze... and jumping immediately to his feet as Ulquiorra approached them.

"Cuarto... forgive me... the door was open..." he began, shifting uncomfortably. Ulquiorra gave him a disinterested look, stepping aside, as clear of an order to get out as any. Luke bowed to them both, sparing Inoue a glance, before hurrying out the door, his heart pounding in his chest.

~.oOOo.~

Szayel tapped his finger against a table, concerned when he came back to the lab and saw that Luke was missing. He could not keep the worry off his face, a thousand scenarios running through his head. What if those invaders were approaching faster than anticipated? If they got to the boy while he was out and about the halls of Las Noches...

He knew he was being unreasonable, that he would know before almost everyone else if the palace was breached, but it could not keep the relief from flooding over him when he heard the boy trying to sneak back into the lab. Luke was moving about quietly, keeping his already low reiatsu down as he slipped over to his workstation.

"Fracción."

Szayel could practically hear Luke come to a screeching halt, and he did not need to turn his head to see the boy tensed up. After a moment, he approached the scientist, looking like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He could not help the slight smirk on his face at his manner, and he shook his head, resting a hand on Luke's shoulder. The boy seemed to be relieved by that, looking up at Szayel almost shyly.

"Forgive me for slipping out, Szayel Aporro-sama," he began softly. "I sensed something unusual, and I just wanted to investigate."

"And did you discover something interesting?" Szayel asked.

"Yes... another human."

Szayel raised an eyebrow at how he said that; _another_ human. Luke never allowed himself to be identified as a human being. To refer to himself as one... Szayel's expression softened and he shifted his hand over to run his fingers through the boy's hair. He was changing... growing and expanding like a child should, and he almost felt a bit of pride that his creation was on his way to becoming something great. His hand shifted down, and he pulled Luke close to him, wrapping an arm around him as the boy let out a confused noise at the hug. Szayel knew he had to protect this boy... this precious creature that was reaching up and clinging to his coat.

"Szayel Aporro-sama?" he asked softly.

Szayel ran his fingers through Luke's hair again, before pulling away. "Luke, there is something I need you to hear. This is very serious."

Luke blinked, but nodded, listening intently.

"There are individuals here in Hueco Mundo, and they will invade the palace at any moment," he told him. "They are the ones responsible for that massive surge of reiatsu from before. They are here to collect the human you met before."

"Why is she here, Szayel Aporro-sama?" Luke asked curiously.

"She has a special power, one very unique like yours is," he explained. "Her most powerful skill is the ability to reject events, reversing them as if they never happened."

"That... is why Grimmjow has his arm back, right?"

"Yes," Szayel replied. "Those that are invading are close to her, and have come to get her back. Aizen, of course, will not allow that, but he is ordering the Espada to stay in their rooms, and allowing the invaders to come to us."

"Then if one comes this way, I'll keep them from getting anywhere close to the lab," Luke responded, a determined look on his face. Szayel, however, shook his head, giving his arm a squeeze.

"...no," he said. "I don't want you to be here when the invaders break into the palace."

Luke's mouth hung open, looking like he had just been stung, and it was a moment before he could get something out.

"But.... Szayel Aporro-sama, I'm not afraid," he protested. "When you became the Octava, I swore that I would be your sword and shield. I want to defend you... I _can_ defend you!"

Szayel reached up, brushing his fingers lightly along his cheek. "I don't want you to," he murmured softly. "I want you to stay safe, and far away from this conflict."

"I..." Luke protested, but his shoulders were dipping down, defeated. He... could not protest against his master like that. He bowed his head, leaning into Szayel's touch. "...what would you have me do, Szayel Aporro-sama?"

"I want you to go out into the desert, where we used to test your abilities," he answered softly. "There is a list of samples I want you to collect. You can find it and what you will need to collect them in your room."

Luke stepped away from him, still looking a bit sad as he bowed to him. "As you wish, Szayel Aporro-sama."

Szayel watched him turn and leave, going to his room to gather his things. This... this was the right thing. No matter what would happen Luke was going to be safe. The thing he cared for... would be safe, and that was all that mattered.


	10. Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

It seemed their three invaders had multiplied. There were two individuals running down Szayel's precious hallways as he watched them on the monitor of his computer; one of them a bumbling huge hollow, and the other was a very familiar shinigami with red pineapple hair. The sight of the man pleased Szayel, if only because he had been able to see Luke off before the man showed up. If Luke had seen the pineapple shinigami was there… well, the results would have been rather disastrous.

"Don't worry, Luke," he murmured softly, inputting commands into the computer. "I'll do what you would have wanted."

A hole suddenly opened up in the floor under the shinigami, depositing the fool into a chute that would lead to a chamber he had prepared for occasions such as this. He laughed privately as he stood from his seat, shaking his head as he started for the chamber. Unbelievable... he reached up to his headset, touching a button on it so would project his voice into the chamber.

"Spectacular, shinigami!" he exclaimed as he took his time. "I put quite a few traps out there, but I can hardly believe you fell for the simplest one."

As he came to the door of the chamber, he could see the shinigami with his hand on his sword, eyes darting around the room as he tried to find where Szayel was. He chuckled, stepping into the room.

"Forgive me, I should have introduced myself," he sneered, reaching up to pull the communicator out of his ear. "I'm only going to say this once, so I do hope you remember it. I am the eighth Espada, the Octava Espada, Szayel Aporro Grantz."

The red pineapple smirked slightly, hiding his obvious unease. "Espada, hunh? One of the ten that—"

The shinigami cut himself off as the sound of the hollow he had been traveling with came from the hole he had fallen through. He almost panicked, darting away from the chute... only to end up squashed anyway, as another hole opened up in the wall behind him, spitting out the rotund hollow on top of him. Szayel just stood there, watching their antics with a bored expression on his face, especially as the hollow finally noticed him, spouting nonsense about him being the top researcher of Las Noches.

Finally, he let out an annoyed sigh, folding his hands behind his back. "This little farce of yours is quite enough, don't you agree?" he asked, earning himself a glare from the shinigami. Szayel held up his hands, a bit of a smirk on his face. "Oh, such a frightening face. Please have mercy on me; though I may be an Espada, my fighting ability is not all that spectacular. As the big gentleman said, I am a 'researcher', so..."

"Hold it," the shinigami interrupted. "I don't really give a damn about your life history. If you're going to give it, at least do it while I'm kicking your ass."

Szayel just raised an amused eyebrow as the shinigami grabbed for his sword.

_"Bankai! Hihiou—"_

The shinigami's massive Bankai had almost formed, before it suddenly shattered entirely, leaving the red pineapple confused.

"What... the...?"

"See? It's because you didn't let me finish," Szayel replied with a sneer. "In this room, you won't be able to use your Bankai."

"My... Bankai...?" the shinigami repeated, obviously still in shock.

"Yes, I'm so glad you were able to repeat it," Szayel replied dryly, rolling his eyes. "That's rather skillful for an idiot." He reached up, adjusting his glasses, before continuing. "Allow me to explain. All the information about your Bankai: it's shape, abilities, even the way in which it arrives as well as the spiritual composition from your reiatsu. All of this information was delivered to me in perfect condition, and utilizing that data, I simply created a device that would seal your Bankai within this chamber."

"All that information," the shinigami began. "The only way you could have gotten that is if you fought me yourself, so how the hell...?!"

"My elder brother," Szayel replied simply.

"What...?"

Szayel let out a sigh. "Oh, forgot my name already? Very well, I will repeat it just this once: my name is Szayel Aporro Grantz, the younger brother of Ilforte Grantz."

The shinigami's eyes widened. "That guy...?!"

"Oh, you remember trash such as him?" Szayel asked. "I must thank you then."

The pineapple looked less than impressed. "Judging from the way you're speaking, I'm guessing you're not going to avenge him."

"I have no interest in doing so," Szayel replied, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "The information on your Bankai was recorded by the spirit bugs I had planted on him the last time I had to tend to his wounds. I am not so childish as to get upset over a broken container of bugs."

The shinigami opened his mouth to say something, but Szayel wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword, drawing it slowly.

"However..." he began, sneering as he drew his sword, "the boy that was with him was something very precious to me, something you nearly damaged, in addition to the fact that my brother was very precious to _him._ You should be thanking me, you know; if I had not sent him away before your arrival, I very well doubt you would still be standing at this point."

The pineapple shinigami grit his teeth, taking a step away as Szayel raised the weapon, the blade brushing past his lips.

"I must ask you not to fight too hard," Szayel continued, smirking, "I really dislike working with a messy corpse."

~.oOOo.~

Luke sighed softly to himself as he located one of the samples on his master's list, bending down to retrieve the rare plant that only grew at a certain hour near the plateaus of Hueco Mundo. The task of gathering samples was a mundane one, something he never enjoyed in the first place, but when he knew that something so important was going on back home...

Just as he bent down to begin harvesting the sample was when he first felt it: the first of many presences that would wink out. The Noveno Espada was unique among them, as he was the only Gillian-class former hollow among them with such a high rank, and it was his duty to report on everything and anything that went on within the halls of Las Noches. These reports were delivered immediately to all of those under Aizen...

So, even though he was so far away from Las Noches, Luke knew it immediately when the Noveno died.

He dropped his tools, standing up and turning to where the palace could just barely be seen in the distance. This was not right, he should have been there at the lab with his master, no out here staying away from all the conflict. True, the Noveno was not an individual to concern himself with, but if they could kill him, then they could possibly...

...no, no. He needed to have more faith in his master than that. He _should have_ had more faith in his master than that. His master may not have been strong physically, but he was the most brilliant mind in Las Noches. He had to have faith in the fact that his brilliance would save him again...

Luke let out a breath, forcing himself to drop to his knees and work. Everything would be fine… despite whatever losses they may suffer, the intruders would be dealt with before he even returned to the palace, and then he and his master could continue their work as if nothing had ever gone wrong. He had to tell it to himself several times before he believed it, but by the time the sample was secure in its container, he felt a little more confident about what was going on behind him.

...and then the Cuarto's presence suddenly vanished.

Ulquiorra was not dead; he just simply... disappeared, leaving Luke to wonder just what the hell they were doing over there at the palace. He forced himself to focus, working hard on the next sample he needed to gather...

...and then he felt Grimmjow's reiatsu disappear to almost nothing.

Luke jumped back to his feet at that, feeling his heart race. The Sexta was not dead either... not yet, but if he did not get help, it would not be long before he was dead. He could not focus on his work after that, and instead stood on the edge of the plateau he was on, keeping his senses trained on the palace and listening, feeling out for the slightest changes. So many were dead already, he could sense that much, but most of the Espada were still fine...

And then the Séptima Espada's reiatsu faded away with his death.

His insides twisted as he wrung his hands; Seven and Nine were dead, Six was just barely alive... just who were these monsters that had invaded their home?!

...and then his master's life suddenly winked out.

Luke's breath left him as his eyes widened, his heart hammering loudly in his chest. No, no, this could not be right. His master could not die... his master could _never_ die... He was all he had, and he owed him _everything._ His master could _not_ leave him!

_"Szayel Aporro-sama!"_ he screamed, disappearing in a burst of static...

~.oOOo.~

Szayel stood there in his resurrección form, dripping wet from the left over fluids and nutrients from the shriveled husk of the body he had just used to rebirth himself. Such a wonderful ability of his, to be able to impregnate the body of the last individual he had contact with, so that he may be reborn again should something happen to his body. The captain class shinigami that had appeared before him looked rather shock, the fearsome, Egyptian like face a stone mask of disbelief as he remained silent after the explanation of his ability.

It was a long moment before Kurotsuchi Mayuri moved, approaching Szayel... and then ignoring him entirely, going over to the shriveled husk that had once been his lieutenant. She was still alive somehow, speaking too low for the scientist to really hear what she was telling her captain. Whatever it was that Mayuri heard from her, he stood up, a massive grin showing off his yellowed teeth.

"How _amusing."_

That certainly was not the response Szayel was expecting, and it brought a frown to his face as the captain dusted off his hakama.

"That truly is an amazing ability of yours," he continued. "It has piqued my interest. So... is that _all_ you can do?"

"What...?" Szayel found himself asking. The man could not be serious... "all he could do"?

"That can't possibly be it, right? Not after all that talk about how 'perfect' you are?" Mayuri returned. "There must be some other ability you are keeping from me. Don't be cheap! You have nothing to lose at the moment, so what's the problem?"

Szayel gave him a less than impressed look, before raising an elongated finger. At his command, the grotesque caterpillar-like creature that formed the captain's Bankai suddenly reared up, coming crashing down on Mayuri mouth first, much like the captain had ordered it to come down on him before.

"Curse the fact that your Bankai takes the form of a creature, Kurotsuchi Mayuri!" he exclaimed. "Did you think it would be _fine_ after consuming me? My flesh will fuse with the nervous system of anything that eats it. Even without having data on your zanpakutō, once I have control of its core, everything else is meaningless!"

Suddenly, the head of the strange creature started to bubble up and expand, before the Bankai exploded. Szayel stood there, confused at the sudden self destruct... only to give the dust enough time to settle and reveal Mayuri standing there, his sword in its sealed state.

"How disappointing," the captain began lazily. "Did you honestly think a master would allow one of his tools to defy him?" He lowered his sword, sounding disappointed now, "Well, it seems as if you truly have nothing new to show me. I suppose it's time to see how my new drug is working on you."

Szayel shifted back defensively, a frown on his face. A new drug; when had Mayuri gotten close enough to him to administer any kind of drug? And how could he have not known about it?

"Oh ho," the captain laughed, "there's no need for you to be so defensive. Your new drug has already been ad...min...is...tered..."

Szayel frowned as the shinigami's words suddenly grew painfully slow, to the point where he could barely understand what he was saying.

"There were already several drugs within Nemu's body," Mayuri explained, speaking and moving so slowly, that Szayel had to wonder if he was doing it on purpose. "That way whether she's eaten or invaded, the perpetrators would be infected."

"W-what kind of drugs are these?!" Szayel demanded, trying to work his body to locate where this drug was and nullify it before things got worse. Mayuri reached into his haori, pulling out a small, blue glass vial, swirling the contents so slowly.

"This was in where you reformed yourself as an egg," he explained. "Don't worry, it's not poison... I suppose you can call it... a super human drug."

A super human drug, something that could expand the senses; was that why the more time that elapsed, the more it felt like everything was slowing down? His senses were being expanded, increased to levels that his body could not handle. For a moment that felt like it took days, his eyes flicked away from Mayuri, watching the clouds in the sky rolling by; normally they would have gone by slowly, but his senses were so advanced that they seemed to have come to a stand still.

Mayuri kept speaking, explaining to him his new condition, but his sense of hearing was so heightened that it felt like every syllable took a day for it to reach his ears and allow his brain to process it as speech. He stood there, paralyzed, watching as Mayuri raised his sword, hovering it teasingly just mere inches from his face, an act that felt like it took a month to complete, the sword moving so slowly...

The shinigami shifted the sword down, and somehow he was able to raise his hand, not that it did Szayel much good. The blade took twenty years to pierce through his hand, blood slowly trailing down his hand and along his arm as the blade took another twenty years to creep toward his heart...

~.oOOo.~

_How many years has it been since then...?_

_How many decades... no, more than that, time has surely flowed on in some innumerable amount. But when... when will the time come?_

_When will the time come for this sword to pierce my heart?!_

~.oOOo.~

Mayuri stood before the only room of the once lab of Las Noches that was still intact; and of course it was. A fool Szayel Aporro may have been, but he knew how to build his lab properly. Thank goodness for that as well, because whatever was in this well guarded room would make the whiners behind him shut up for once, as well as yield some _precious_ treasures.

"Mayuri-sama," the newly revived Nemu began, standing humbly behind him as always, "something does not feel right."

As if on cue, something started beeping loudly from the soon to be corpse that was still standing with Mayuri's broken sword in his chest. The shinigami rolled his eyes, having just jumped ever so slightly.

"Most likely a proximity alarm," he explained dryly. "After all, the store room where a scientist keeps his precious specimens is the most important."

He reached out, flinging the doors open… just in time for a blast of light to shoot over the top of his head, utterly obliterating the hair extensions that surrounded his Egyptian-like crown, as well as everything behind him for a good few yards. The shinigami stood still, realizing that such an attack had not come from a defense mechanism, but an individual he could not see in the darkness, breathing labouredly.

"Oh ho?" Mayuri began. "It seems our friend Szayel Aporro still has some tricks up his sleeve..."

"You have no right to speak of my master that way," the labored voice hissed, shuffling in the darkness, and it took Mayuri a moment to realize that the intense darkness of the room was not because the lights had been destroyed when the lab exploded, but because the individual within was the _source_ of the darkness.

How _fascinating._

The individual shuffled closer to the daylight of the inner dome of Las Noches, revealing a short redhead clutching at his chest. How the boy was still moving around was a mystery, as his chest cavity was sunk around a massive bulge in his chest, the source of the intense dark energy that was flowing out of him at an alarming rate.

"Szayel Aporro-sama..." Luke gasped, "where is Szayel Aporro-sama...?!"

Mayuri raised an eyebrow, before merely standing aside, so that the boy could see the soon to be corpse standing some distance away. Luke's eyes widened at the sight, his breathing picking up to the point where he was gasping out every breath, before a scream of anguish finally ripped from his throat.

_"Szayel Aporro-sama!!!"_

The very sound around Mayuri seemed to rebel against him, and he found himself surrounded by spheres of the same glowing light from before. At once, they all moved to converge on him, but a last minute shunpo barely saved his life. He looked down at his arm where one had come far too close, flesh sizzling from being instantly cauterized.

"Nemu, stay away," he ordered as the girl was about to attack. "This isn't—"

But he did not get to finish; the more the boy screamed, the more spheres of light appeared, forcing both captain and vice captain on the defensive. Some of the spheres exploded, while others shot out rays of energy as Mayuri and Nemu struggled to stay ahead of the swarm that seemed entirely out of the boy's control.

Finally, with a loud gasp of pain from Luke, everything came to a complete standstill. Mayuri hazard a glance around a sphere that was set to explode, to see the boy doubled over, blood pouring from his chest. Whatever that darkness that was radiating from him was, it was destroying his body from the inside out.

Luke cried softly as he clung to the void bursting out of his chest, feeling weak in body and in spirit as both his physical being and soul were being slowly ripped apart at once. His master was dying, frozen in death's pose, and he was just a few inches away from that same door himself. He... could not let that happen. He could not let someone precious drift away...

He had to force him back...

_"Lorelei is free, Asch! If we stay together, maybe we can go back home!"_

_"Home... I can't... dammit, dreck, I can't..."_

_He was reaching out his hand, clinging to the gloved hand of his original. Asch looked so frail and weak as Luke clung to him, though he supposed just coming back to life would do that to a person. Still, he fought to hold onto him even though Asch did not want to, but Asch was caught up it what felt like a powerful current, and with the other redhead not even trying to fight, it was taking everything for him to hold on._

_"Yes you can! Don't tell me you don't have a home anymore. Mother, Father, Natalia... they're all waiting for you! You can fight this, Asch!"_

_Asch did not respond, merely closing his eyes as Luke's grip on him slipped, and he started to drift away._

_"Asch!"_

_Before he knew what he was doing, he forced himself into the "current", grabbing Asch and flinging him back to where he had been with all his strength. His original landed roughly, opening his eyes in surprise, but Luke was already caught up in the current, and being pulled away too fast for anyone to do anything..._

Luke was already moving as the memory faded into the back of his mind, a burst of sonído bringing him to his master's side. He had used the ability all the way back to Las Noches, and this last burst made him gasp in pain, bringing him to his knees. Struggling to stay alive, he forced himself back up, grasping the blade that was stuck in his master's hand and chest and pulling it away. Blood flowed freely as he grasped at the wound.

"I know what I'm paying... to do this..." Luke gasped, like he was replying to someone that was not really there, or perhaps to Szayel himself despite the fact that he could not hear him. "But... I don't care... I'm doing this... for someone... that's important to me...!"

A rune flared to life beneath his feet, glowing brightly as he gathered the Seventh Fonon to himself. He was not a fonist, and he did not know how to use this spell, but he knew the incantation... Lorelei would just have to understand the rest.

"Bring this soul from the abyss of death, _Resurrection!"_

The rune at his feet exploded with light, and for a moment it seemed as if the spell would not work, and Lorelei would ignore his prayers. A heartbeat later brought a stream of light from above, a single white feather descending toward Szayel, bringing him life as Luke felt his own slipping away...


	11. Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

_He felt content for the first time in a long time, resting as he was on a flower covered hill. He raised a gloved hand, the light shining through his fingers and reflecting off of his glasses. A faint smile came to his face as he let his hand come to a rest over his stomach, sighing softly. A head of red hair nestled against his own, and he nuzzled closer to the individual himself, the contentment warming inside of him as he became aware of his precious experiment's presence._

_"This is... peaceful," Szayel said softly. "Where are we?"_

_"A hill, outside of Baticul," Luke answered. "Look."_

_Szayel sat up, seeing the familiar city built into the mountain from the first unusual dream he had. Luke shifted up beside him, and he could feel the boy wrapping his arms around him, resting his cheek against his shoulder._

_"I wish you could see this for real," he murmured._

_"Perhaps someday I will discover a way to return you to your home," he replied, reaching down to grasp Luke's hand... but his fingers went right through him as the boy let out a sad sigh._

_"I'm sorry, Szayel Aporro-sama... it's already too late for me..."_

~.oOOo.~

Szayel blinked his eyes open slowly, finding himself staring up at the glaring sun of the inner dome of Las Noches. The first thing he noticed was that everything hurt, and everything was moving as it should, which meant that the super human drug had somehow lost its effect. He inhaled painfully, hearing people talking and moving somewhere nearby, but not really able to process it over the buzzing in his ears. He sat up, brushing dust from his hair and realizing he was back in his sealed form, before raising his head...

...and seeing Luke had fallen over beside him, the void in his chest pulsing as slow as his chest was rising and falling.

"Luke..." he began softly, and everything seemed to stop behind him as he reached a shaking hand out, gently brushing the boy's hair with his fingers. "Why...?"

Luke's eyes fluttered open at his voice, a weak smile coming to his face. "Szayel... Aporro-sama... I'm... so sorry..."

Szayel shuffled over, picking him up carefully and resting his head on his lap. "What did you do...?"

"I couldn't... let you die," he answered, reaching up to touch Szayel's cheek. "You... gave me everything I ever wanted..."

"What are you talking about?" Szayel replied, shaking his head. "I tore you apart and reshaped you into something I wanted."

Luke laughed softly, turning his head to the side a bit so he could cough up blood. "No... no you didn't... You did those things to me... but I... in my heart... I wanted someone that would... open my eyes to something new... something that would... give me a place... a responsibility... a life... that was all my own... and was not someone else's originally..."

He paused a moment, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry... I lied to you, Szayel Aporro-sama... when you asked... if there was anything... I didn't tell you about me... I... I'm not really... Luke fon Fabre... I'm... Luke fon Fabre's replica... a clone... of the real Luke... I just kept his name... because he did not want it anymore..."

"Luke..." Szayel murmured.

The young replica gazed up at him, though it was hard to tell if he was really seeing him anymore, as his eyes had become unfocused and his breathing more labored.

"I... was not the replica... with you," he continued, struggling still to speak. "You didn't... look at me like I wasn't... real... Even with my friends... I was still... a replica first... but I was... a person first with you... and that... mattered so much to me... you... gave me a place I belonged..."

Szayel did not even know how to respond, he just shook his head, surprised to feel tears shake loose from his eyes. They fell onto Luke's face, and brought a smile to his lips as Szayel reached up to take his hand in his.

"Szayel Aporro-sama... I'm... so happy..."

"I... I am too," Szayel replied softly. "I'm right here... I'm right here... Luke..."

Luke smiled sadly as he closed his eyes, looking rather content as he breathed out a sigh... and Szayel could feel his hand growing heavy in his...

"No, no... _no!"_ he snapped as the boy's chest slowly came to a stop. "Dammit, I sent you away so this wouldn't happen! Why would you...!?"

Szayel trailed off, already knowing that Luke could not hear him anymore. The only thing he could do was hold onto his hand as his reiatsu slowly diminished, leaving him feeling empty inside. He sat like that for a long moment, at a loss for what to do or say, and barely even realized a shadow had fallen over him until the individual spoke.

"You did not comprehend me before, so I will say it again," Mayuri began. "You are a mediocre fool that sought out nothing more than perfection. But perfection is disgusting. After perfection there is nothing higher. There isn't even any room for creation, which means there is no room for wisdom or talent either. For scientists like us, 'perfection' is really a 'despair' deeper than the one that is destroying you now."

Szayel was silent for a long moment, before he bowed his head, clutching Luke's limp hand tighter, as if that would breathe lift back into his fragile body.

"...take what you want and leave me," he murmured. "I have no desire to fight with you anymore."

"Hmph," Mayuri replied dismissively, waving a hand. "I was going to do that regardless."

Szayel sighed faintly, running his fingers through Luke's hair again as the other scientist turned... and suddenly the very air around them seemed to vibrate, coming alive with sound. The redhead's body started to glow as everyone and everything stopped, and the glow shifted, lifting up from his body into a brilliant flame. The flame moved, shifting and reforming, until that spirit Szayel had first encountered a lifetime ago was hovering above all of them.

_It seems I am incapable of reshaping the future._

He could tell the red pineapple shinigami and the human Quincy he had severely wounded before were trying to shuffle away, but had paused when they heard the voice in their heads. Even Mayuri had paused, looking up at the flaming soul with interest. Only Szayel had barely moved, gazing up at the spirit with saddened eyes.

"You are the one Luke refers to as Lorelei, aren't you?" he asked softly.

_I am that which the people of Auldrant refer to as the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon, yes._

"You knew this would happen, from the moment we met," Szayel continued. "Why did you do nothing to stop it?"

_I am incapable of influencing the futures I see,_ Lorelei replied. _Only those that wish for the future to change can change the events I see. My scion and his replica proved this true._

Lorelei's scion... and his replica; it seemed there were still a few things Luke had never told him, not that it meant much of anything anymore.

"What happens now...?" Szayel asked softly.

The spirit floated back... and as if on cue, the void came to life in Luke's chest again, pulsing dangerously fast as it began to eat away at the boy's physical body. Szayel's eyes widened, before he scrambled away, watching helplessly as the void consumed him whole, leaving itself embedded in the boy's spirit form. Luke's spirit stood up shakily, the void throbbing and pulsing where his Chain of Fate would normally be...

...which meant...

_You of this world would know that better than I,_ Lorelei replied as Luke's body was suddenly consumed by fire, forcing Szayel away further.

The flames grew and expanded, until a set of wings shot out from the overwhelmingly hot mass. They beat down hard, pushing the mass up into the air as a head rose from the flames. The stark white bone stood out in sharp contrast from the rest of the flaming creature, and came down to a point, making it look like a bird's head.

"Your ability to rebirth yourself made you boast that you were a phoenix," Mayuri murmured behind Szayel as Luke's massive hollow form hovered over them. "Instead, you've given birth to a phoenix yourself."

~.oOOo.~

He was gazing out of the eyes of this new form he had taken, feeling detached as he watched himself strike out blindly at everything that moved. This body was hungry for souls, and the souls of those he had already consumed while he was a mere halfling were demanding food as well. He reached a hand up, tucking a long strand of hair behind his mask as his master ducked out of the way, Fornicarás drawn, but not used... not against him. It brought a sad smile to his face, and he wanted to reach out with everything he had, and assure his master he would be all right, but he could not anymore...

"Are you glad to be seeing so much destruction?"

He paused at his own voice, his masked face turning to see what it really looked like beneath the mask; a face framed with short hair instead of long. He reached up, pulling the mask away to gaze at the other him with sly, beady yellow eyes.

"My human side," he sneered. "I'm surprised you still exist."

"Of course I do," the short haired young man replied, hugging his arms to his chest. "My voice may have been lost when Szayel denied me my free will, but it doesn't mean I don't exist."

The long haired one snorted, rolling his eyes as he turned his attention back to the battle below. "It doesn't matter anymore anyway. Master will have to kill us... it's the only way he can stop us and he knows it."

"...does it have to be that way?" his human side asked softly, getting the other to turn around in surprise. "I don't want to die... I know you don't. And I hate you, but... I don't want to see you die either."

The other paused, only reaching up to brush his hair out of his face, before he spoke again, "What you said to master... you meant it... didn't you?"

His human side turned away, clenching his hands before him. "Auldrant is lost to us... Szayel is really the only one we know... and he's changed too, just as we have. He wouldn't have sent us away at first if he hadn't. What I said for us... is the truth."

The arrancar side turned away as well, a small smile coming to his face as he held up his mask. "I think... it's time for the two of us to go to 'sleep', and let 'Luke' decide what he wants to do from now on."

He let his arm drop, the mask falling from his hand and shattering on the floor.

~.oOOo.~

The rampaging beast that Luke had turned into was lashing out at everything, only knowing how to destroy and consume; all logic and reasoning abandoned. It did not care what it hit, and even Szayel had been forced onto the defensive, forced to work with the shinigami to keep himself from being roasted. Just as he was about to try to fight back and force some reasoning down the creature's throat, the bird-like monster suddenly calmed, hovering down until its feet touched the ground. It curled up on itself, almost like it was struggling in pain, before the mouth of the mask suddenly opened with a loud _crack._ A soft cry of pain came from the monster at first, before...

_"Szayel Aporro-sama..."_ the creature intoned, and while the voice was distorted, it was clearly Luke's. _"Save me..."_

"Luke..." Szayel began, lowering his sword, at a loss for what to do. It seemed Luke had returned to his senses... but for how long would that last? "Luke... break your mask."

_"It hurts..."_

"I know it does," Szayel called up to him, "but if you don't, you will be stuck in this form, until the hunger consumes you, and you start devouring other hollows and become a mindless Gillian. And then what will you do? You'll have lost yourself, and you will be lost to me!"

The monster let out a faint sound, almost like he was considering... but considering his words, or considering attacking again; that was the question. What made things worse was that there was no guarantee that Luke would return to a normal form either; he could become a weak half hollow, half human-like creature. If that happened... well, he would just have to find a way to give Luke his normal body back. He would not give up on him, ever.

"Luke, please!"

The creature let out a soft cry, its wings coming up... before it screamed loudly as it tore away at its mask, leaving blazing trails along the bleach white bone. Luke continued to scream in pain as light engulfed his body, flames shooting up into the air. Szayel could feel his heart pounding in his chest, worrying that it was taking far too long, and that the boy might have consumed himself instead... when something suddenly shot from the flames, embedding itself into a rock beside him:

Luke's sword.

The flames died in the next moment, leaving a bruised and battered Luke behind... up in the air. Szayel scrambled over, just barely getting under him to catch him and falling over in the process. He lay there on the ground with Luke on top of him, gasping for his breath back, when he felt the boy shift, his hands coming up to cling to his shoulders tightly.

"Luke...?"

Luke lifted his head, and Szayel found himself looking back at an almost mirror image of his face, a pair of glasses like his own settled on his face. Szayel rested a hand on his back, rubbing it softly, and he could feel a depression in his back, where the void had left a hole behind straight through Luke's chest.

"Am I... really still alive, Szayel Aporro-sama?" he asked softly.

Szayel smiled softly, reaching up and threading his fingers through his hair, where the pink strands they had been hiding since they were discovered had become dislodged.

"Yes, Luke," he murmured. "You're still here with me."

Luke smiled tiredly, lying back down on top of him, nestling his head against his chest. "Thank goodness... I'm tired..."

Szayel chucked softly. "Is that all? Good, rest then."

Luke's eyes drifted happily closed, and Szayel looked past him to see the flaming soul still hovering above them. Lorelei raised its flaming arms, looking up to the sky.

_The future has been decided._

With that, Lorelei shot up into the sky, leaving a blazing trail behind.


	12. Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

_"STOOOOOOOOOOP!"_

The sudden shout made him stir back to consciousness, and he opened his eyes, finding himself looking at a rather... interesting scene. A woman was holding down a young human in white, while the strange looking shinigami and his master stood just out of the way. The fearsome looking shinigami looked rather exasperated by the young man's antics as he held a syringe in his hand.

_"Let me go!"_ the young man continued to bellow. _"What are you trying to do!?"_

"'What'?" Mayuri echoed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm fixing you."

_"That's not the word I would use!"_

"Honestly, must you be so ungrateful?" Szayel replied. "You destroy my lab, stab me several times, and here I am, allowing the shinigami to use my supplies to heal you for free. No matter what form you may take afterwards, shouldn't you be a little more thankful?"

_"It's because of you that I need to be healed in the first place!"_ the human continued to bellow. "More importantly, are you really intending to change my _form!?"_

The woman sighed softly, shifting so that her ample bosom was directly over his face. "Please do not move."

The young man froze solid, eyes widening comically. _"Waaahhhhh! Too close! Too close! Too close!"_

"What's too close?" the woman asked, leaning over, intentionally forcing his face into her chest as the boy flailed, screams muffled by her chest. The shinigami nodded, looking rather impressed.

"Excellent work, Nemu," Mayuri said mildly. "Just suffocate him. It's okay if he dies."

He could not help himself, Luke let out an amused laugh. Szayel paused, turning to where he was resting against a rock, before he was at his side in the next instant, taking his hand and holding it gently.

"Luke... are you okay?" he asked softly.

Luke smiled at how worried Szayel was, touched by his concern. "Yes, Szayel Aporro-sama," he replied softly, still sounding tired. "I'm okay... but I'm worried."

"What is it?" Szayel asked, frowning as the Quincy continued to scream. He turned his head toward where the boy was flailing, irritated. "Shut up, you _brat!"_

The Quincy's screams came to a stop, processing the fact that he had just been called a brat. The scientist shook his head, turning his attention back to Luke. The redhead chuckled faintly, before his expression dropped.

"I had a dream," he murmured. "I dreamed that Aizen was on Earth, in Karakura Town, with several of the more powerful Espada. But the Espada were falling to the power of the shinigami... and Aizen was the one to destroy the last surviving Espada." He reached up, taking Szayel's hand tightly. "He... he's betrayed us from the start, Szayel Aporro-sama. He never cared about the arrancar. He only made them all to discard them when he no longer needed them."

Everything fell silent, even the Quincy had managed to lift his head, staring at the two of them as Luke's grip on Szayel's hand tightened. The worry was painted clearly on his face... and his words were only impacted as they could feel Nnoitra's life, burning bright as he fought against whomever he was fighting against, was suddenly snuffed out. Szayel let out a breath, glancing in the direction that Nnoitra's presence had been coming from, before scooping Luke up in his arms.

"...then we can't stay here," he murmured softly as the boy's arms came up, wrapping around his neck almost protectively.

"Oh ho," Mayuri began, looking rather amused. "You intend to turn against your master on a dream?"

"We've been dying left and right," Szayel returned, sounding bitter, "if we had been ordered to annihilate you all before you even reached the walls of the palace, none of this would have happened. But those were not our orders; we were ordered to stay in our rooms and wait for you to come to us. Aizen clearly has this much intended from the start."

To put emphasis on the point, a strange sound rang through the air... and then Aizen's voice came, vibrating the ground around them.

"Can you hear me, invading enemy?" he asked, his voice almost mocking. "To those that have successfully defeated members of the Espada, you have my respect. More than that, we are starting our invasion of the human world."

The Quincy sat up with a painful wince. "That's insane. I thought they couldn't invade until Inoue-san awakened the Hōgyoku?"

"No," Luke replied, shaking his head. "Aizen can awaken the Hōgyoku at will."

As if he could hear them, Aizen continued, "Inoue Orihime has been left in the fifth tower. If you want to save her, come get her; that girl is of no use to me any longer. Her power is amazing, one that has never been bestowed on man before. The upper echelon of Soul Society know of how important her power is, that is why I used her abduction to cause Soul Society to panic so they had to take action to protect her instead of fortifying the human world.

"Inoue would become Soul Society's new war tool. They would have the so called 'substitute shinigami' and his companions infiltrate Hueco Mundo and to further assist them, they would send four captains... and we can contain them successfully."

Four loud _slamming_ sounds came from around them, echoing through the dome. Mayuri raised an eyebrow, before letting out an irritated sigh.

"It seems the garganta we used to come here have been blocked off," he announced.

"What?" the Quincy asked. "Can't you reopen it from this side?"

"Impossible," Mayuri replied, not sounding worried despite the situation. "The only individual that has successfully studied the formation of a garganta is Urahara Kisuke."

The Quincy's finger shot out toward Szayel and Luke. "What about those two?"

Szayel merely rolled his eyes. "As if such a thing would be so simple right now, reprobate."

_"You're the reprobate!"_

Luke shook his head. "We could, perhaps, but opening one would not do anyone any good while Aizen is still here."

"It's simple," Aizen was continuing, "we will destroy Karakura Town, create the King's Key, and assault Soul Society. As for all of you, I will deal with you when everything is over."

The skies fell silent, and Luke shifted in his master's grasp, moving to stand on the ground as he held onto Szayel for support.

"We have to hurry," he said, gasping for breath. "If Aizen succeeds, then... then..."

He would have fallen over if Szayel had not been holding onto him as he was. Luke clung to him, gasping for breath as he still struggled to stand. Mayuri approached them then, and he looked up to him as the shinigami _tsk_ed softly.

"You have died, been reborn into a hollow, and then forced yourself into the form you are currently in," he stated. "At the moment, forcing yourself to do more than that will lead to your permanent death, something I imagine you would rather avoid."

"You're... telling me to sit this out, shinigami-san?" he asked.

"I'm telling you both to shut up and sit back," Mayuri answered. "This is a problem for Soul Society."

He turned to go back to tending to the Quincy and the pineapple shinigami, before he paused, raising a finger that had one nail ridiculously longer than the others.

"Of course," he began, "I suppose you are currently under my care, as refuges of Soul Society. That makes it your problem as well."

Luke and Szayel exchanged looks, not quite sure what to make of this strange shinigami, though the redhead smiled slightly. The man reminded him a bit of his master, though his master was not nearly as creepy (at least to him). He finally succeeded in getting to his feet thanks to his master's help, but the shinigami waved them both off.

"I told you to shut up and sit back," he said. "There's no need to rush."

The Quincy shot up again at that. "No need to rush?! Karakura is about to be wiped off the map!"

Mayuri let out a very put upon sigh. "Must I explain myself to a reprobate?"

_"I am not a reprobate!"_

"Nemu."

There was a muffled scream as Nemu forced her chest onto the Quincy's face again. Luke hid a laugh, and Nemu looked up to him, something like a smile breaking the stony expression on her face for a moment, before turning her attention back to keeping the Quincy quiet.

"In addition to sending us here through the garganta, Urahara Kitsuki had orders to make Karakura Town ready for the captains of the Gotei Thirteen to fight in the town," Mayuri explained.

"How?" Szayel asked. "Only six captains left or not, their mere presence in the human world would crush Karakura Town."

"Tenkai Kecchuu," Mayuri replied simply.

"Those are... the pillars that allow travel back and forth between Soul Society and the human world, correct?" Luke asked. "They act as a sort of Senkaimon gate, but instead of just transportation, they switch an area with an equivalent."

Mayuri raised an eyebrow, glancing at Luke, before turning his attention back at Szayel. "No wonder you keep him around," he praised, before continuing. "Yes, that is exactly right. The Twelfth Division built an elaborate duplicate of Karakura Town, and it has been switched with the real Karakura Town. So there is no need to rush; for the moment, the town and all its inhabitants are safe."

Mayuri turned away from them, holding up his syringe. "Now, where was I...?"

~.oOOo.~

Szayel's ability to create his own garganta was sealed off when Aizen closed off the shinigami's entrances to Hueco Mundo, and Luke was too inexperience to know how to do it on his own. Unbeknownst to Aizen, Szayel had built his own device to create garganta passages, regardless of the state of their surroundings. He built it back when he had first created Luke, in the event that the boy could not travel through a normal garganta; the device was built with human-like creatures in mind, and created passages that were strong and sturdy for delicate individuals to pass through. Luke had proved himself capable of passing through typical garganta gates, however, and he thought he never would need to use it.

Now, he would need it.

Beside him, Luke was fidgeting back and forth, looking like he wanted nothing more than to bolt off and away from assisting with getting the garganta generator in order. His eyes kept shifting back and forth, as if he was following something invisible that was directly in front of him, instead of on the other side of the palace. The pineapple shinigami had already darted off, as he had been more cooperative with being healed than the Quincy was being, and despite the fact that Luke had a clear dislike for the other redhead, he had wanted to accompany him. After a moment, Szayel sighed softly, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder and making him jump.

"Go," he ordered, "but swear to me that you will back off immediately if you feel yourself getting weak."

Luke's face brightened, but he quickly sobered, nodding. "Yes, Szayel Aporro-sama. I will not endanger myself any more than necessary."

"You won't endanger yourself _at all!"_ Szayel protested, but the boy had already disappeared with a static burst of sonído. The scientist stared at where the boy had been standing, letting out an exasperated sigh as the Quincy suddenly started screaming again. "Children..."

~.oOOo.~

It did not seem to matter how many of the creatures she was confronted with fell to her blade, more of the mindless monsters came at Rukia Kuchiki, to the point where she could just barely lift Sode no Shirayuki. The trail on the pure white weapon seemed to fly limply, as if it was mirroring how she felt right now, but she refused to waver, no matter how difficult it was for her to draw breath.

"What is the matter?" the monster before her asked. This creature was not an Espada, but he may as well have been; all of the arrancar she had fought came solely from him, who had taken a tree-like form after he had released his zanpakutō. The skulls that dangled from his limbs would grow into more of his dispensable underlings, just like they were doing now.

"Are you daunted by my Calaveras?" Rubobōn asked, his arms folded over his bleach white wood-encrusted chest. In the next moment, more of the skull masked soldiers fell from his branches, standing about him with zanpakutō drawn.

"I'm afraid you will fall to the godlike power of my Árbol, shinigami."

Rukia let out a breath, reaching up to brush her sweat soaked black hair from her face, before gripping the hilt of her zanpakutō. If she was to die as she almost did after slaying the ninth Espada, then she was going to go down fighting, just as she had before. As she was about to attack, however, a loud intake of breath came from out of nowhere. The Calaveras stretched up and out into impossible angles, before what little souls they had were ripped from them, turning them to bone and then dust. The stream of souls sailed up into the air, and both Rubobōn and Rukia followed it with their eyes, to where it was swallowed whole by a short of stature redhead standing on the remains of a wall. Silence fell as the boy let out a soft sigh, reaching up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Octava fracción!" Rubobōn shouted, sounding rather irate. "What do you think you're doing? Return to your post!"

The boy merely smiled. "Forgive me, Exequias-san. I was ordered to assist, but I was rather weak," he said, before shrugging casually. "Since you can make so many, I did not think you would have minded sparing a brief meal."

Rubobōn gave him a sidelong glance, before turning his focus back to Rukia. "If you wish to assist, fracción, then you can assist the lesser Hollow below."

Rukia raised her sword again, ready to attack, but she found her gaze drifting to the boy instead as he rested a hand on the hilt of his sword behind him. A slow smile spread across his face as he drew the weapon, twin blades humming softly as it slid from the sheath.

"I'm sorry," he began. "When did I say I was sent to assist _you?"_

Rubobōn froze, before spinning around far too late. The fracción darted forward in an instant, his sword lashing out and relieving the arrancar of several of his branches. He landed on the ground near Rukia, who took a step back, rather baffled by the sudden attack. Rubobōn roared in pain and raged as the boy turned about, standing before the shinigami protectively, sparing her a glance.

"I am the former Octava's servant, Luke fon Fabre," he said softly. "May I have your name, shinigami-san?"

"R-Rukia..." she murmured, baffled by the sudden assistance. "Kuchiki Rukia."

Luke smiled warmly at her. "Miss Rukia, please allow me to protect you so that you may regain your strength."

Rukia nodded numbly, lowering Sode no Shirayuki and stepping away as Rubobōn hovered over Luke, the remaining branches of his form twitching in rage. Skulls sprang to life on his branches, but Luke was already moving, stabbing his sword into the ground.

_"Howl, Lorelei!"_

The release of his sword exploded around his form, the tattered remains of his coat near blowing off and revealing his hollow void as the sword became apart of his very being. Rubobōn paused at that, and though he had no eyes that they could see, it was easy to imagine them widening in surprise.

"You... you've become a true arrancar!" he bellowed. "Why do you side with the shinigami?!"

Luke narrowed his eyes as Lorelei's power died around him, before raising a hand, a sphere of hyperresonance glowing brightly at his unspoken command. He crushed it in his hand, light splaying everywhere as he reared his arm back in an Olympic worthy throw.

"My master ordered me to assist," he answered simply. "Are you too stupid to comprehend that?"

Luke flung the hyperresonance at the arrancar, and Rukia barely got a glimpse of Rubobōn disintegrating before the light became too bright for her to look.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters may come a little slower, as the story is getting close to where Bleach is currently at, and quite a lot is being revealed and I hate it when my theories are proven right.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Luke dusted his hands off in an almost bored manner as the light from his hyperresonance died; leaving barely a speck of dust that might have been Rubobōn behind. He held his hands out before him in the next moment, allowing the Sword of Lorelei to leave his body, just in time to feel the sharp edge of a blade at his throat. Leaving Lorelei in the ground, he followed the edge of the pure white blade down to its owner, who was glaring back up at him, the confusion clear in her expression.

"Yes, Miss Rukia?" he asked mildly.

"You said you were the servant of an Espada?" she demanded, her voice cold.

"The Octava, yes," Luke answered. "Why?"

"Why?" Rukia echoed. "Why would an Espada send their servant to help a shinigami?"

Luke gave her a very neutral look, before his gaze shifted, almost like he was seeing something very far away from them. After a long moment of silence, he finally answered:

"What choice do we have? Aizen has already betrayed us by killing the Terca himself."

Rukia hesitated at that, her sword lowering slightly as Luke looked away, squeezing his eyes shut against the mental image that lingered. He had liked the Terca; she was an honorable woman, and did not deserve just to be slaughtered by an egomaniac. After a moment he let out a faint sound, grasping Lorelei and yanking it out of the rubble... just in time for the rock under their feet to suddenly explode. Rukia stared wide eyed in shock at the unexpected explosion as Luke grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her and yanking her backwards. A familiar roar of rage ripped though the air a moment later, and he turned in surprise to see Yammy's head emerging from the rubble.

He landed on the sand with Rukia as they were joined by the red pineapple shinigami and a human man, both of them out of breath, but still in the fight. The human's only visible eye widened at the sight of Yammy as the Espada pulled himself up... and up... and up...

"Chad, do you know this guy?" the pineapple asked.

The human nodded uneasily. "Yeah... but something's odd. When I fought him in the human world, he was pretty damn big, but he wasn't this _huge."_

"Yammy's power grows as his anger grows," Luke explained, his grip on his sword tightening. "Who ever pissed him off this much..."

Yammy growled softly, clenching his fists as his reiatsu leaked out, threatening to crush all of them under its shear power.

"I'm going to _fucking kill that four-eyed bastard!"_

As if on cue, a massive blast of black-lined red light burst through the dome above, impacting on the sand and nearly sending all of them flying in the resulting shockwave. The pineapple shinigami cursed as he stuck his sword in the ground in an effort to keep himself from flying, raising an arm to protect his face.

"What the hell is it now?!" he demanded.

Beside Luke, he could feel Rukia almost tremble. "This reiatsu... Ichigo...?" she murmured faintly.

The redhead glanced down at her, before looking back to the light as it slowly faded away.

"If this Ichigo is one of your shinigami companions, than you're wrong," he replied softly. "That was a hollow's cero."

A moment passed, before Yammy shrugged, working his right arm as he approached them. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something, before an immense spiritual pressure from above suddenly faded away. The massive Espada stopped, eyes widening in shock the same as the shinigami and human below him. Luke just cast his gaze up to the cracked daylight sky above, to where the unending night of Hueco Mundo showed through, before bowing his head.

"...Ulquiorra-san..."

Yammy's fist flung out, impacting against a pillar that had somehow survived the carnage. It did not last long after that, crumbling to the sandy ground as the Espada grabbed a few chunks of it, grinding it to dust in his fist.

"Dammit! I was even gonna come give him a hand once I finished with you runts!" he bellowed. He opened his fist, letting the dust slip into the sand. "Tch... no use helpin' a dead man. Piss me off... I slept and I ate and I charged up my reiatsu, _and this is all I get?!"_

Yammy suddenly grew even larger, the muscles of his arms ripping through his coat as his form expanded. The little group backed away as the Espada bellowed, slamming his foot down hard enough to cause waves of sand to send them off balance.

_"There's no way I'll use it all just to kill pieces of trash!"_

Luke fumbled to keep his footing, flinging a hand out to steady himself. Rukia caught him, mostly out of reflex, though he nodded his thanks as the pineapple stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at the enlarged Espada.

"Number ten?" he murmured, before glancing at the three of them. "Have you fought Espada before?"

"...yes," Rukia answered hesitantly.

"Yeah, so to speak," Chad replied, sounding just as confident.

"The same," Luke added, having a feeling he knew exactly what Chad meant.

The red pineapple smirked slightly. "I won't ask; it's not like I'm not lucky to be alive either—"

Luke shot him a glance, less than amused. "Yes, I imagine my master showed you all the courtesy you deserved, Pineapple."

The shinigami twitched. "It's Renji! Abarai Renji!" he snapped, before forcing himself to calm. "My point is, this guy's the weakest of them all. His size means nothing; let's just take him down and get to Ichigo."

Luke stared at the pineapple's back as he slung his sword over his shoulder, eyes widening. Did... he really just say what he thought he said? Was he that _stupid?!_ Luke's hand smacked loudly against his forehead as Yammy's hand went down to his sword.

"What the hell are you babblin' about?" the Espada demanded. "You? Take me down?! Very funny!"

Yammy ripped the sword from its sheath, holding it high before him, with the point toward the ground.

_"Thrash 'em, Ira!"_

The sword dissolved into smoke as Yammy released his resurrección, though they could all see the number ten tattoo emblazoned on his left shoulder as his form expanded to ridiculous proportions. As the Espada grew, however, so too did the tattoo change; the one gradually flaked off from his shoulder, like it was made of dust, leaving only the zero behind as the smoke started to clear.

"Who ever said the Espada were numbered one to ten?" the Espada sneered as he towered over them, his new form reminiscent of the dinosaurs of old mixed with a terrifying barbarian of flesh and bone. "The number's go from zero to nine. I'm the only Espada whose number changes when I release!"

Yammy shifted, the ground trembling just from the movement of his feet, before his fist came back, intending to pound them all into the ground.

"I am the Cero Espada, Yammy Rialgo!"

~.oOOo.~

After being an Espada for so long and able to collect as many fracción as he desired, Szayel had become rather spoiled, and was not used to doing his own physical labor anymore. Having to load the garganta generator onto a cart felt like it would break his back, and the fact Mayuri was just sitting there poking around his things was not helping his mood any. He settled part of the device down, before putting a hand on his hip, sending a fierce glare to the other scientist.

"I am well aware that my specimens are so fascinating, but another set of hands would but much more beneficial to the cause," he snapped.

Mayuri raised his head, giving the Espada a neutral look. "I believe the manual labor should be left to those with lesser intellect, 'Mr. Perfect'."

Szayel swore he heard something snap in his brain as he tightened his fists... and therefore was not expecting it when a sudden massive spiritual pressure came crashing down around them, making the whole palace shake. He stumbled, before letting out a yelp as he fell from the cart, landing with a puff of sand as debris from the roof started to pelt them like hail balls. The scientist let out a dissatisfied noise, snapping a hand up to grasp the cart and pull himself up.

"Yammy... dammit, that idiot released inside Las Noches," he hissed. "Does he want to bring the entire dome down on everyone?"

Mayuri stood up from what he was observing, brushing off his uniform. "I suppose this means you'll be working faster then," he began casually, like he was speaking of the weather. "No doubt your fracción has already engaged this monster you speak of."

"Luke wouldn't do something so—"

Szayel cut himself off before he could say "stupid", knowing full well that yes, the boy would, and he was probably already suffering from several serious injuries by now. He swore violently under his breath, grabbing the machine again and pulling it onto the cart in earnest.

~.oOOo.~

Luke stumbled up to his feet, his right hand holding onto his injured shoulder as his sword hung limply in his left hand. Behind him, Chad was already unconscious, and Renji – the damn idiot – was well on his way there, if the weak moan of pain was any indication. Rukia and he were the only ones in any kind of fighting shape, and Rukia was currently in the hands of the beast, struggling to free herself from Yammy's powerful grasp.

"What a pain in the ass," Yammy groused. "It's not going to my resurrección form that sucks; it's having to look around for you little shits when you're this damn tiny."

He shook the fist that held Rukia back and forth almost mockingly, drawing a cry from her. "Lemme tell 'ya," he continued, "not crushing you to bits right now ain't exactly an easy task when I got 'ya like this."

"Let her go, Yammy!" Luke shouted up at him, his grip tightening on his sword. Yammy shifted slightly, the ground trembling as he treated the redhead with a sneer.

"Release and make me, 'ya little brat!" he shot back, waving Rukia back and forth again. The shinigami let out an alarmed noise, shaking back and forth in his hand as Luke narrowed his eyes at the massive brute.

"Trash like you is not worthy of seeing my resurrección," he replied, raising his sword no matter how heavy it felt in his hands.

Yammy gave him a disinterested look, before he smirked, rearing back the fist that was holding Rukia. He swung it back hard, letting go of her mid-swing and sending her plummeting toward the sand. Luke let out an alarmed noise, using sonído to hurry to her side and catch her in an effort to hopefully ease her fall. Just catching her however felt like he caught a pile of bricks, and before he knew it they were both hurdling toward the sand at a pace that would break their necks.

They were just inches away from the ground, when the sand suddenly burst up around them both, and an immense reiatsu wrapped around them, bracing their fall. Luke was able to turn himself around, easing both himself and Rukia onto their feet, before the spiritual pressure let up, revealing a tall young man with orange hair standing before them.

Yammy's eyes widened at the sight of the young man. "You...!"

"Yo," the boy returned, a smirk coming to his face. "I was only gone a few minutes, and look how big 'ya got! Quite the change, I'd say."

"Ichigo...!" Rukia began as Yammy growled loudly.

"Don't make him angry..." Luke muttered, planting a hand over his face.

_"Kurosaki Ichigo! You're fuckin' dead!"_

Luke's grip tightened around Rukia as Yammy opened his mouth, a massive cero beam charging from within. Before he could use sonído to get them out of the way, however, Ichigo just swung his sword, sending off a blast that struck the Espada in the face before he could let loose the destructive blast. Rukia struggled out of Luke's grasp, though he was too numb with surprise at the attack to really hold onto her, approaching the other shinigami.

"Ichigo, why are you alone? Weren't you supposed to save Inoue?" she asked.

Ichigo paused, before looking back to her. The look in his eyes made Rukia pause, forgetting to breathe for a moment; his eyes... he looked so...

_Sad._

"I did," he finally answered, turning away from her. "She's on the roof healing Ishida now. They'll be fine."

"Ichi—"

Rukia was cut off as Luke grabbed for her again, Yammy's fist suddenly hovering mere inches above their heads. Again, though, he was interrupted from using his sonído to get away, suddenly finding himself grabbed by Ichigo and away from the massive Espada's fist. As the sand erupted around the appendage, they were already over to a small building that had somehow survived all the carnage, both Luke and Rukia sharing twin looks of surprise.

_"Quit runnin' around 'ya little piece of shit!"_ Yammy bellowed. He started toward them; his footsteps making the whole palace shake. Ichigo did not seem to react to the loud brute, though he did not look away from him either.

"Rukia," he finally began after a moment, "stay here. I'll just finish this up, and we can head back to the real world. I'm going to put an end to this stupid fighting right now."

Ichigo paused a moment, before looking back to Luke. "Hey, you..."

"Luke," he supplied.

"Luke... thanks for looking after Rukia. This'll be quick."

With that said, Ichigo started off after Yammy, drawing the Espada away from where Luke and Rukia stood in various forms of awe and surprise on the roof of the small building, as well as away from where Chad and Renji were unconscious on the sand. Compared to Yammy, Ichigo was only a small speck of black... so when the Espada suddenly hit the sand face first due to a massive blast of the shinigami's sword's power, it was a bit of a shock.

"Just... what kind of person is your friend?" Luke asked softly.

When no reply came, he looked down to Rukia, and quickly realized that even she did not have an answer for his question.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Szayel uses "susure" when he transforms, which I've seen translated to both "sip" and "imbibe". To be honest, "imbibe" sounds better and makes better sense to me, so that's what I use when writing the command in English. Also, this goes without saying, but major spoilers for _Bleach_ will be present from here on out.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

_It had to have been at least an hour or two since Aizen and his army crossed over into the fake Karakura Town, and there were ridiculous casualties on each side. All three Espada and their fracción were dead, the hollows that had been called out were utterly obliterated, and Tousen had been wounded to near death before he was finally killed by Aizen's hand. On the shinigami's side, all of the vice captains were either severely wounded or otherwise incapacitated or on the verge of death, and the captains were not in much better shape either. To make things worse, the captain of the first division was dead, having used a sacrificial kidou in a last ditch effort to slow Aizen down enough for Kurosaki Ichigo to get in the hit that would matter the most._

_But even that had failed, and Aizen was still in perfect health thanks to the Hōgyoku that protected him._

_Ichigo just stood there in shock, the fragments of his bone mask fading away, his emotions spiraling out of control thanks to something Aizen said._

_"All of my battles so far... have been in the palm of your hand...?" he finally asked. "What the hell do you mean...?_ Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

_Aizen merely raised a single finger, smirking slightly. "Your voice," he began. "Do not raise your voice, Kurosaki Ichigo. There is no reason to be so surprised, now is there? I simply believed that you possessed the finest raw materials needed to carry out my research and therefore helped you grow. That is all I meant."_

_Everything happened like pictures flashing by in a children's story book. One moment, Aizen was pushing his coat aside, grasping the Hōgyoku from where it was embedded in his chest. The next, his hand was going through Ichigo's chest, the Hōgyoku pulsing angrily as it absorbed the shinigami's immense spiritual energy..._

_...and then Aizen was leaving the husk that was once Ichigo behind as he ascended the stairs to the Throne of Heaven..._

~.oOOo.~

"...what _is_ he doing?"

"I don't know; he just suddenly stopped and stared off into space."

A hand came down to rest on his shoulder, making him blink away the last horrifying visages of the future. A concerned face framed with bone glasses and pink hair was staring back at him, frowning slightly as he tightened his grasp on his shoulder.

"Luke," Szayel asked softly. "Are you all right?"

"Szayel Aporro-sama..." Luke murmured, absently leaning closer to him, before looking around. Rukia was kneeling nearby, a concerned look on her face. Yammy was still around, his form having changed dramatically – clearly those two black specks he kept trying to swat at were just pissing him off even more. Mayuri was seated nearby, where the garganta gate was standing, keeping watch over the only path out of Hueco Mundo. Nemu was some distance away, gathering up the injured that were in the area, which consisted of Renji, Chad, and she was dragging an unconscious Grimmjow to rest beside them that moment. Another shinigami woman and man that he did not recognize were already starting to work on healing them.

One was missing...

"Where is Kurosaki Ichigo...?" he asked, looking up to his master.

"While you spaced out, Ichigo left with Unohana-san to return to the human world," Rukia supplied.

Luke's breath left him at that. "No... no, we have to go there too then!"

Szayel paused, frowning down at him. "Luke..."

Luke grasped him by his shirt before he could finish, his expression earnest. "Szayel Aporro-sama, I saw it... I saw what will happen. Aizen will use _Ichigo,_ not Karakura Town, to forge the King's Key and ascend the Throne of Heaven. _Ichigo_ was his goal all along! It's why he made all of you, why things have happened as they did! It's all because of Ichigo!"

Luke moved toward the garganta gate, but Szayel grabbed him, turning him back around to face him, his concern obvious. This was not right; he had not seen Luke this upset since Ilforte died.

"Luke, how can you be sure?" he asked. "How can you know that this is real?"

Luke bit his lip, shaking his head. "I-I... don't know. I guess when I became a hollow, I inherited some of Lorelei's power. But this is real... this _will_ happen if we do nothing to stop it."

The redhead turned to approach the garganta again as Szayel grabbed for him once more.

"Luke, please, calm do—"

_"I can't calm down, Master!"_ he shouted, whirling around and knocking Szayel's hands off of him. The two of them stood there, the scientist staring at his charge in shock, before Luke's hands slid up to his hair, gripping at it tightly. "All over again..." he began, shaking. "It's just like Auldrant all over again... every time we thought we had something figured out... every time we fixed something... something else would happen that would tear it all apart. Master Van would... Van would...!"

Luke's voice dissolved into choked sobs, leaving Szayel at a loss as to what to do. Finally, hesitantly, he reached out to his fracción, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and, when the boy did not protest, pulling him close. Luke came over easily, clinging to Szayel's shirt as he buried his face against his chest. The scientist rested his head atop of his, taking a moment to consider and process what the boy had just told him, before holding onto him tighter.

"You have the free will to do what you feel is right," he murmured softly. "I made you. I trust you. I know... that you will not let us all down... so do what you feel you need to do."

Luke peered up at him hesitantly, feeling a heavy weight settle in his chest, before he nodded slowly. He reached down, taking the notebook he always kept faithfully at his side and ripping a page from it, scribbling a quick note down, before folding it up. With that done, he approached Nemu, holding out the note for her to take.

"Nemu-san," he began. "Please give this to Miss Orihime when she returns from the roof."

The woman blinked curiously at the note, before nodding as she took it. Luke offered her a faint smile, before turning to face his master.

"The more people that were not in my vision that can aid us, the more likely the future is to change," he announced, before going to settle beside Grimmjow's injured form.

"We don't have a lot of time."

~.oOOo.~

Every time Aizen moved, someone fell to Kyouka Suigetsu.

All Ichigo could do was stand away from the fighting, watching as the captains and their lieutenants fell one by one. These people were his comrades, his friends, and some that could be friends, and all he could do was just _stand there,_ hovering in mid air and watching as their bodies hit the ground one by one, blood soaking the streets as Aizen stood above them all, his blade gleaming in his hands. He felt his gaze drifting down, his heart wrenching as he saw Toshirou, his white hair tinted pink with his own blood, laying deathly still, one of the Vizards not that far away... or at least, part of him; the rest of him was on another city block. Ichigo's breath shook as he forced it out of his throat, his grip on Zangetsu tightening as he fought not to be over come with emotion.

He could not afford to make a mistake now because of his temper.

Soi Fon, captain of the second division, was the last to hit the ground, her broken body twisted amongst the rubble she landed in. Now it was just down to two: himself, and Yamamoto Genryūsai, the captain commander of the entire Gotei 13...

A sudden burst of familiar reiatsu suddenly came to life behind Ichigo, and he flung himself to the side without thinking or looking. Barely a moment later, the massive blast of a Gran Rey Cero shot past him, toward Aizen. The former shinigami turned slightly, and Ichigo saw his eyes widen in surprise before he vanished, shunpo bringing him a safe distance away.

An aggravated sigh came from behind him a moment later. "A brilliant lack of judgment, as always."

"Shut up, fruitcake," a familiar voice growled back.

Ichigo's eyes widened, and he slowly turned as Grimmjow swaggered up from behind him, working his shoulder. There was an awkward pause as the shinigami just _stared,_ at a loss for words, before the Espada turned to him.

"Don't get th' wrong idea," he growled as Luke and a guy with pink hair came up beside him, "no one but me s'llowed to kill 'ya."

Ichigo's mouth just dropped, though he was not really aware of it, and none of them had a chance to comment. Aizen was approaching, an amused look on his face.

"Octava, Sexta," he began, his tone light. "Such a pleasure to have you join us, but please, try to correct your aim."

"You know it wasn't off," Grimmjow snarled, ripping his sword out of its sheath. "I ain't in th' mood for talkin' either. I ain't gonna be used by no one, not for such a stupid reason, not by you!"

His nails clawed along the blade of his sword. _"Grind, Pantera!"_

Grimmjow barely finished unleashing his resurrección before he shot out toward Aizen, claws aimed for his heart as his tail whipped about angrily behind him. Szayel sighed again, muttering something about children with swords, shaking his head as he unsheathed his own sword.

_"Imbibe, Fornicarás."_

Ichigo had to look away as Szayel transformed, trying not to be sick as the Espada's body expanded to ridiculous proportions. He hesitantly looked back to them when he finished, making a face at the scientist's strange form as Szayel turned toward Luke. A soft word was exchanged between the two of them, before the pink haired man quickly joined Grimmjow.

"What's going on?" Ichigo finally asked.

Luke turned to him, an earnest look on his face. "Kurosaki-san... please don't get involved in this fight. Just... run; just run far away from here."

His mouth fell open again; before he clicked it closed, getting annoyed. "What do you mean, don't get involved? I'm already involved! I've been involved since Aizen targeted Karakura Town!"

"It's not the town he's after," Luke replied softly. "Please... just back off."

Ichigo's mouth opened to protest, but the redhead already disappeared with a burst of static, joining the other arrancar.

~.oOOo.~

Orihime looked exhausted as a healed Ishida helped her back down from the roof, looking just as tired as she was after losing a hand and coming so dangerously close to death. Despite that, he held her up as they approached where the shinigami were, the both of them silent as heads turned toward them. Orihime ignored it, and barely even managed a response when Rukia ran up to her, hugging her tight; her mind was elsewhere, back on the roof she had just left.

_"You humans speak that word so easily; like it's something you can hold in your hands. This eye of mine is all-seeing. There is nothing I cannot perceive. That which I cannot see does not exist; I have fought this far knowing that."_

She sighed softly as the captains fighting against the last remaining Espada created a massive explosion, not that it did anything to Yammy other than piss him off even more. All she could think of was how it was not fair for this to happen; that things should not have happened this way.

_"What is a heart? Will I find it if I rip your chest apart? Will I find it if I crack open your skull?"_

"Orihime?" Rukia asked softly, making her jump slightly. Still, she managed a smile for her shinigami friend, even if it hurt.

"I'm fine."

But she wasn't. Not really.

_"Tch... right to the end, you never do what I think you will... In the end, I think I actually had some interest in you people. Are you afraid of me... woman?"_

_"I'm not afraid."_

_"...really. I get it now... so this is... heart?"_

She was so powerless.

"Orihime-san?" came a soft voice from behind her, and she jumped, turning to see Nemu. The soft spoken shinigami held out a note for her. "Luke requested I give this to you."

"Fabre-kun...?" she asked softly, taking the note and unfolding it... before she felt her heart freeze in her chest.

_Return to the roof.  
Believe in your own strength.  
Do what your heart tells you to.  
Then both of you come to Karakura._

Orihime felt her heart twist as she read it over again, tears streaming down her face. Believe in her own strength... She crushed the note in her hands, shaking.

"Nemu-san... please take me back to the roof. Quickly!"

She knew Ishida was staring at her, that others were looking at he like she had grown another head; but she could not react to it, emotions welling up inside of her. Fear, determination, horror, love; she did not know how Luke had known how she would feel when she left that horrible rooftop, how lost and misdirected and powerless she would feel, but just seeing those words helped bring her head back under control.

"Please, Nemu-san!"

The shinigami nodded, wrapping an arm around her before the both of them rocketed up to the roof, leaving Ishida and Rukia shouting their concern after her. Once they arrived back on top of the massive dome of Las Noches, Orihime asked Nemu to return, not wanting to explain or have any kind of interference as she did what her heart told her to do.

She took a deep breath as Nemu disappeared, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. Before all this began, she had been told that she could easily revive a part of her Six Flowers, the container of her power, even though there was only dust left of it. She had not just healed her friends and others since she came into realization of her abilities, but she had brought back limbs, even restore a person that had half of her face and torso blown off.

Orihime reached out, the faint dust that was still blowing around settling in her hand, almost as if the person that had once _been_ that dust was still trying to reach out to her. If she had the strength to do all that, then she had the strength to do this...

What happened was not right.

"Sōten Kisshun," she began, the fairies responsible for her healing ability shooting out from the hair clips they belonged to.

"I reject."

~.oOOo.~

Grimmjow let out an enraged snarl, flying through the air past Szayel as the former Octava's wings came around him, protecting him from the blast that had knocked the other arrancar away. Luke shot past him at that moment, his sword lashing out to clang loudly against Aizen's. The former shinigami held him there, giving him an amused smirk, before pushing him off as hard as he could. Luke let out a yelp as he was sent flying, just as blasts of Bala from his master's wings shot out, hitting Aizen point blank, and followed immediately after by a massive blast of pink Cero.

Luke spun about in midair, landing on his feet beside his master, smoke from the attack obscuring the former shinigami from view. An annoyed grumble came from behind them as Grimmjow climbed up the building they were standing on, settling beside them in a crouch as they all waited, knowing better than to hope that such a simple attack would kill their former master.

As expected, Aizen's sword cut through the smoke, the casual smirk never leaving his face as he approached slowly.

"Now, now, my Espada," he began, "why do you continue this futility? You know very well that you could never defeat me. That is why you followed me."

Grimmjow answered by jumping off the roof, raising his hands, clawing blazing blue trails along the sky as he brought up his strongest technique. His Desgarrón tore through the sky as he swung his hands down, the blue trails of energy cutting a path to Aizen. The former shinigami sighed, his sword striking out, shattering the deadly attack with barely an effort... just as Luke darted through the shards to get to him, sword lashing out, coming within inches of landing a hit. He found himself cutting through air instead, and he could not recover fast enough to prevent the foot that came smashing against his glasses, knocking him into a building several streets down the way.

"I grow tired of these children's games," Aizen announced, his bored tone almost drowned out by Grimmjow's battle cry as he shot up into the air, claws poised to rip the former shinigami's face off. Aizen merely turned... and in the next moment, the former Sexta's arm was flying away from his body, a massive gash that extended from his shoulder to his hip gushing blood. Grimmjow coughed, eyes widening in surprise, wondering when the hell Aizen _moved_ as he fell from the sky.

Szayel hunched forward as Grimmjow fell to the ground, a black, ink-like substance shooting from his back. If they could not defeat Aizen, then Aizen would just have to fight with himself... but the former shinigami was avoiding his replicating spray, moving so fast that Szayel's eyes could not follow. A blink, and then Aizen was directly in front of him; the scientist expanded a wing, bringing it before him protectively, but it was no use. Kyouka Suigetsu sliced through it and his chest, drawing a pained cry from the former Octava. He fell to his knees as he clutched at his bleeding chest, glaring up at the man he once reluctantly called master.

"I already died because of you once..." he hissed. "I don't intend to do so again!"

"Kill you?" Aizen replied, his tone almost mocking. "If I wanted to kill you, my ambitious child, I would have done so the moment you arrived in the human world. There must be an audience for God's ascension. You should be honored."

Szayel's biting remark was cut short before it could even begin as Aizen was suddenly hit from behind, hard enough to send _him_ flying into a building down the street. Luke gasped as he tumbled to the roof, looking like he had used up all of his energy just to do that. He shook his head, ignoring his own exhaustion as he reached for his master, looking him over.

"Szayel Aporro-sama, are you all right?" he asked.

Szayel waved off his concern. "I'll survive," he answered, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Luke, we were powerless from the start. He knows our abilities, what we're capable of, but he doesn't know you. You'll have to keep fighting now."

An uneasy expression settled on Luke's face. "Master, _I_ don't know me. I... I don't know what I can do now. I can't even transform like you can!"

Szayel let out a soft snort. "I'm certain you can," he murmured. "I think you always could have... there was just a part missing. You have that part now... you already know it. Unleash it... and do everything you can."

Emotions flicked over Luke's face in a storm, and he reached up, rubbing a blood stained hand over his eyes, before wrapping his arm around Szayel's shoulders. The scientist held his creation close despite the blood that still oozed from his chest, a small smile coming to his face.

"I'm proud of you, Luke," he whispered softly. "Thank you... for everything." He pulled away, giving him a stern look. "Now... _go."_

Luke nodded, the emotions settling down to determination, before he jumped up, shooting across the sky to where Aizen was recovering. Despite hitting a building, he still seemed to be amused by their efforts to stop him, casually dusting off his white robes as Luke came to a stop.

"Just you now, young Luke," he began. "How do you hope to fair against me?"

"Honestly? Not well," Luke replied. "But I still have to fight."

"Why ever for?" Aizen asked. "You do not originate from here. This is not your home."

"My home is wherever my master is. That's all that matters," the redhead answered, before his gaze turned distant. He was silent for a very long moment, before he finally spoke again, "...I see; you allowed master to keep me because you believed it would make him weak... you judged him as useless to your plan the moment he was born."

Aizen stood with the same expression as always on his face, revealing nothing at Luke's words, but he did not need to.

"You're wrong."

"I'm sorry?"

Luke's grip on his sword tightened as he started to lift it, shifting his grip so that the tips of the twin blades were just a few inches from the hole in his chest.

"My master is not weak, nor did I make him weaker. He's strong; stronger than you, because he has strength where it matters most. Here." Luke placed his free hand over his heart. "And that strength is mine as well... and I will use it to make sure the future I've seen does not come to pass."

Luke closed his eyes as he slid the Sword into the hole in his chest, the void filling with a brightly pulsing light that threatened to flare to life any second.

_"Howl... for a radiant future, Lorelei!"_

Luke turned the Sword of Lorelei like a key in a lock... and his world erupted into a pillar of flame.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

_He could still remember the smell of the sea as he sat there, atop the Albiore II as it rested at dock in Chesedonia. There was a cool breeze that night, ruffling his hair and guiding hers gently away from her face. The moon hung low in the sky despite the fact that it was so far away from the ground now, and not even the replica Hod, floating high up in the air where the land used to be, could obscure it from view. For all intents and purposes, it was the perfect night, and no one would have ever imagined that they were about to fight for the last time together._

_"...tomorrow," she finally said softly._

_He turned at her, surprised, before offering her a faint smile. "Yeah... I hope my body holds together until then."_

_"It will... tomorrow... and the day after... and on and on..."_

_He frowned. "I..."_

_She turned, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"_

_His stomach twisted, and he felt his nerves stretch. "Ah... never mind."_

_She snorted softly, closing her eyes as she turned away from him, yet he could still see the faint smile on her face._

_"You're weird."_

_"I am not!" he protested. "I just... thanks."_

_She turned back to him then, confused. "What's with you all of a sudden?"_

_"You watched me this whole time," he replied, as if the answer was obvious, "just like you promised."_

_She chuckled faintly. "You idiot," she said fondly. "I'm going to keep on watching you, too."_

_"You're the idiot. I'm going to disa—"_

_He cut himself off as she pressed a finger gently to his lips without looking. After a moment, she turned to him, the smile on her face painful to look at._

_"It's okay," she said softly, lowering her hand. He tried not to look sad, for her sake, but he could not help himself. He raised a hand, almost like he was going to take one of hers, but he thought better of it, awkwardly setting it back down on the hull of the ship._

_"It's weird," he finally said after a long moment passed. "I'm really happy right now. I have friends... and you. I can finally think of myself as..._ me. _This is probably the happiest moment of my life."_

_She frowned, concerned. "What...?"_

_He closed his eyes, feeling his heart wrench in his chest._

_"I mean..." he began softly. "I wish I could think it wouldn't be..."_

~.oOOo.~

The pillar of flame that had engulfed Luke suddenly shot down, wrapping itself into what might have been a ball, with no real form other than the illusion the raging fire created. Slowly, they settled into a real _shape,_ though they had not really changed, looking like ragged edges of cloth wound tightly around a sphere. Finally, they burst apart, flaming wings reaching up to the heavens as Luke unfolded himself, letting out a sigh like he was breathing for the first time. His hair had lengthened, reaching down to his back before it trailed off into a flaming tail that extended past his feet. Only the pink lock of hair was the exception, floating freely, dancing amongst the fire that had become a part of him. His mask had changed as well, again resembling his master's, though keeping the musical theme that seemed to be a part of Luke's being.

More importantly, it was the first time in a long time Luke felt like _himself_ again.

"Impressive," Aizen murmured, eyes raking over his new form. "Such a shame you were not permitted to mature properly. I would have enjoyed seeing what kind of fearsome creature you would be then."

"It wouldn't have mattered," Luke replied, his voice soft. "I am me. Nothing, not you or anyone else, can change that."

"Hm... I see," was the only response, reminding the redhead very much of Van at that moment, standing before him as he made his will to end the conflict between them clear. Luke held out a hand, and fire shot from it, solidifying into the Sword of Lorelei, glinting in the sunlight; somehow, this felt appropriate...

"Aizen... _prepare!"_

Luke launched himself at Aizen, who was waiting patiently for his attack. Their swords met with a loud _clang_ that rang through the air and made the buildings around them tremble, and for a moment Aizen seemed surprised by the boy's new strength. Luke did not give himself long enough to see if that surprise was genuine, pushing himself off and swinging his sword about in the familiar motions, Fang Blade forcing the other man back.

Aizen skidded to a stop, an amused smirk on his face. "Your style is unique to this world. Everything about you is unique."

"What of it?" Luke demanded, shifting his grip.

"Nothing," Aizen replied simply. "Just that it would be unwise if you relied on it."

Luke let out an annoyed noise, rushing forward again. His sword thrust out, an attack Aizen easily avoided, but the former shinigami was not counting on the bolt of lightening that struck the blade afterwards. The force of nature made the boy's sword hum loudly as he whipped it around, the energy striking Aizen and sending an unpleasant shock through his system. He hissed in pain, raising his sword to hit Luke, but the boy twisted around, raising an arm to catch the awkwardly swung blade. A faint trickle of blood slipped from under his destroyed jacket, a clear indication that Luke had inherited his master's weak hierro, but he did not seem bothered as he shoved Aizen away as hard as he could, sending him through a nearby business building.

The young arrancar shot after him, wings leaving a blazing trail across the sky. Aizen righted himself in the air just as Luke's blade came crashing down on him, and the boy allowed himself a bit of a smirk when he saw the former shinigami struggling to hold the defensive position. He began to gather the light that surrounded them into his body, and Aizen's eyes widened, almost as if he knew what he was going to do. The former shinigami pushed away from him, but Luke was already moving, the Sword of Lorelei blazing with light as he swept his sword up, the Light Blast that hit Aizen strong enough to send him sailing limply through the air.

Luke allowed himself an elated breath, almost not believing it as he watched the broken body before him start to fall... before he felt Aizen's reiatsu coming crashing down around him, almost suffocating. He stumbled a bit in the air in surprise, as Aizen suddenly stopped dead, dropping the charade and righting himself. The casual smirk was on his face as if it had never left, and Luke hovered back slightly, unease settling into his stomach.

"I see," Aizen suddenly spoke up. "You are not even aware of your true potential. Such a pity; you wont even be able to give me a challenge."

Luke's eyes widened as Aizen stood there, the embodiment of confidence, quickly realizing that everything the man had been doing so far had just been an act. He had been forcing him to go all out on him, just so he could see what he was capable of...

And now it was Luke's turn to smirk. "You really think so?"

Aizen's confident expression dropped as Luke held his sword out, the blade humming like the tuning fork it resembled. The weapon started to glow, Seventh Fonons gathering in the small gap between the two blades as he slowly raised the sword above his head, before bringing it down in a sharp swing. Light blasted out of the weapon, shooting out in all directions, forming into the little spheres of hyperresonance Luke had assaulted Mayuri with, the same ones he had no control over. Only this time, he had that control; the spheres surrounded Aizen and even followed him as he used shunpo to get away. Some of them started to explode once they were close enough, sending the former shinigami off balance.

"It's over..." Luke murmured faintly, not really believing it himself as he motioned with his hands. The spheres separated, and while Aizen tried to get away, he could not move fast enough to outrun sound itself. The spheres converged on him, shooting through his body...

...but Luke paused, realizing that there was something strange... something about the way Aizen's body moved did not seem right... as if it had never been conscious...

He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again his vision was clear, and he could see what was left of Tia Harribel's body turning to dust thanks to his assault. Luke's eyes widened in shock and horror as realization came to him; Aizen's zanpakutō, a sword with the ability to create powerful illusions... He had never witnessed Aizen using it himself, and therefore believed that he would be immune to its effects.

But his master had seen it. His master had used his own DNA to make him...

Luke turned, but it was too late. Aizen was behind him now, his sword coming down on him as he turned, ripping a painful gash along his back. The arrancar cried out in pain, wings shuddering as he fell, struggling to fly again even as every little movement sent searing pain through his body. His wings let out a familiar sounding tone as he struggled, though he did not have time to wonder what it could mean. The ground was coming up fast, and he would be in a lot more pain if he hit...

Something soft and fleshy wrapped around him at that moment, and it took him some time to realize that it was his master's wings. He clung to one of the buds that were bracing him, holding onto it for dear life as his master retracted his wings, looking exhausted from extending them as far as he had. Still, Szayel pulled Luke to safety, his own chest wound looking much better thanks to his limited regeneration abilities. The redhead let out a pained sound as his master gathered him up in his arms, a bloody hand weakly coming up to cling to his shoulder as he felt Aizen approach them slowly.

"Such a pity," he murmured. "It seems you will not be a witness after all..."

Szayel let out a soft, "Tch," holding Luke protectively close as Aizen raised his blade to finish them both off... when a pillar of flame suddenly erupted behind him. He paused, glancing over his shoulder to the massive fire, and Szayel squinted, just able to make out a faint black and white speck amongst all the heat. Aizen let out a soft snort, lowering his blade.

"Hm... forgive me," he murmured, "it seems I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Aizen vanished with a soft sweep of shunpo, but that did not stop Luke from trembling against Szayel. It took the scientist a moment to realize that the boy was crying softly, and he looked down, resting a hand on his head.

"Luke, what is it?" he asked softly, wondering if he was in that much pain. He had certainly put the boy through worse, but...

"The future," Luke whispered softly, afraid to look up at him, "it's not changing..."

~.oOOo.~

Orihime trembled, falling to her knees in exhaustion as she allowed herself to be covered by his shadow, knowing that he was staring down at her with an uncharacteristically perplexed expression on his face, but not really caring at the moment. She had never restored that much, never had to reform an entire body and then force life back into it; she knew she _could,_ but actually doing so had made it feel like her own body was being ripped apart at the seams. Silence hung over the two of them, a loud, suffocating kind of silence, but he was the one that spoke first:

"Why?"

It was such a simple question, one she should have been able to answer, but could not find the voice to do it. She looked up to him, tears falling from her eyes as she got her breathing under control.

"Answer me."

"I had to," Orihime finally responded.

"Why?"

"Because my heart told me to."

He let out a faint sound, looking away from her. No doubt he was thinking she was just "spouting" her usual "nonsense", but he did not say anything like that. In fact, it looked more like he was at a loss for what to say or do for that matter; finding himself granted a second chance must have been disorienting, and no doubt he was waiting for the others below to come up here and attack, no doubt disturbed by his returned presence.

Hesitantly, as if his arm was a separate entity from himself, his hand slipped out of his pocket and reached out for her as he had before. This time, she did not hesitate; Orihime let his hand fly out to meet his, letting her fingers thread around his own and weaving them together tightly, afraid that any looser and he would slip away again. She let out a soft breath when he did not, finally smiling without pain for the first time in awhile.

"Welcome back, Ulquiorra," she said softly, starting to cry again.

The Espada glanced down at her, watching the tears falling from her eyes. "Why are you doing that, woman?"

"Because, I'm happy," she answered softly as she stood up, their hands still entwined. She slipped her fingers away from his, though the loss of contact did not last long as she launched herself at him in the next moment, arms wrapping around his neck and holding him close. She could feel Ulquiorra stiffen, not even sure how to respond to this random burst of human emotion, but Orihime did not mind. Things were right again, and they were going to stay that way.

"Ulquiorra," she murmured softly. "I'll need your help, and then you can do whatever your heart tells you to do."

~.oOOo.~

It had to have been at least an hour or two since Aizen and his army crossed over into the fake Karakura Town, and there were ridiculous casualties on each side. All three Espada and their fracción were dead, the hollows that had been called out were utterly obliterated, and Tousen had been wounded to near death before he was finally killed by Aizen's hand. On the shinigami's side, all of the vice captains were either severely wounded or otherwise incapacitated or on the verge of death, and the captains were not in much better shape either. To make things worse, the captain of the first division was dead, having used a sacrificial kidou in a last ditch effort to slow Aizen down enough for Kurosaki Ichigo to get in the hit that would matter the most.

But even that had failed, and Aizen was still in perfect health thanks to the Hōgyoku that protected him.

Ichigo just stood there in shock, the fragments of his bone mask fading away, his emotions spiraling out of control thanks to something Aizen said.

"All of my battles so far... have been in the palm of your hand...?" he finally asked. "What the hell do you mean...? _Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"_

Aizen merely raised a single finger, smirking slightly. "Your voice," he began. "Do not raise your voice, Kurosaki Ichigo. There is no reason to be so surprised, now is there? I simply believed that you possessed the finest raw materials needed to carry out my research and therefore helped you grow. That is all I meant."

Luke could not watch, still clinging to his master with his face buried against his shoulder. He knew what was about to come, and he could not do a single thing to stop it. Yes, he had inherited Lorelei's power and with it, he could see the future that was to come and the past that had been... but in exchange, he had also inherited Lorelei's curse as well. He could not do a thing to stop what would happen, and he could only listen as Aizen told Ichigo everything; how he had orchestrated everything that led to the shinigami being as he was now. Naturally, Ichigo lost it, striking out at the former shinigami captain, but Aizen caught his blade with his bare hand as if it were nothing but a piece of paper fluttering in the wind.

"Do not disappoint me," Aizen chided. "Your power should be far beyond this now. Do you not believe what I'm saying?"

"Of course not!" Ichigo snapped, rage poisoning his voice.

"But it is fact."

"It's a _lie!"_ Ichigo bellowed. "All the fighting that has happened so far was because of you?! All of that was staged by you!? Who the hell would believe something like that?! You said it yourself before! You said you discovered Rukia after she went missing in the human world. Now you're saying you've known about me ever since I met her... It doesn't make any damn _sense!"_

A faint chuckle escaped from Aizen. "How amusing," he murmured. "You say it's a lie, that you refuse to believe what I'm telling you. Yet what I said in the past was somehow not a lie?"

Luke trembled as he listened, clamping his hands over his ears as Aizen continued to speak, wishing he could blot all of this out and pretend it was not really happening. It had been some time since he had felt so powerless, not since he was still a human being on Auldrant. He felt Szayel's grip on him tighten, heard a faint rustle as Grimmjow clawed his way up the building with one arm, settling beside the both of them and breathing hard from exhaustion, but still all he could hear with Aizen's voice as all of the hope he had held crumbled.

Ichigo was shaking as Aizen finished, not looking at him. "There's one thing I wanna ask you..." he began, his voice trembling as much as he was. "You said before... that you believed that I would be the best subject for your research. Why? What did you base that belief on? If you've been watching me ever since I met Rukia, then tell me: when the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

Silence hung in the air, but Luke knew what was about to be said, and it made his blood run cold.

"Since the beginning."

"Enough with the bullshit," Ichigo hissed, but Aizen merely smirked.

"What is so hard to understand? I said, 'since the beginning'. I have been aware of you since the moment you were born."

Ichigo froze, and Luke did not need to be looking to know that Aizen was moving, stepping closer...

"Since the moment of your birth, you have been special," Aizen continued, raising his hand, "because you are the offspring of a human and—"

Luke felt a lurch in his mind long before Aizen cut himself off, long before the loud rip of a sword going through the former shinigami's outfit reached their ears. Hesitantly, he lifted his head, gazing up in wonder as a new shinigami stood protectively before Ichigo, the white captain's haori secured around his left shoulder fluttering in the wind.

"You talk way too much, Aizen!"

Ichigo stood there, in just as much shock as Luke was, and he struggled to let out a faint whisper of surprise:

"...Dad...?"

Isshin Kurosaki turned to his son, but Luke did not really see him head butt the boy off the roof of the building they were standing on. His gaze was far away, trembling still, but smiling. Szayel gazed down at him in concern, giving him a squeeze.

"Luke, are you okay?"

He took a deep breath, before turning a happy expression up to his master.

"The future... it's changed."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A war was going off over their heads, and all the arrancar could do for the moment was hide under a piece of fallen building. With both Kurosakis fighting Aizen and Gin, there was little they could do that would not put the three of them in the way, so all they could do was sit back and heal and rest up. Luke was particularly exhausted, not even able to maintain his resurrección anymore, but he refused to show it, healing Grimmjow's arm as best he could.

"I'm sorry, Grimmjow," he managed. "I still can't re-grow limbs."

Grimmjow worked the stump that was left, the only one of them that had to stay in his released form, least he be unable to return to it because of his lost arm.

"Tch... one of these days, I'll be able to keep that arm..." he grumbled, letting it rest at his side.

"Luke, rest," Szayel ordered as his fracción stumbled back to land on a rock. "You're going to damage yourself at this rate."

"I-I'm fine," Luke protested... just as a massive sudden power shift erupted outside, making the ground tremble and their shelter almost come down on their heads.

Curious, and despite his master fumbling to drag him back where it was safe, Luke slipped toward the opening in the debris, looking up to where Aizen and Isshin were fighting. The former was hunched over, clutching at where the Hōgyoku was embedded in his chest. They were talking up there, but they were too far away for Luke to be able to hear what they were saying. He was about to slip out from hiding entirely so he could hear better, when he felt his master’s hands on his shoulder.

"Don't you dare," Szayel hissed. "We're out of this fight. There's nothing more we ca—"

The ground trembled suddenly, and the both of them looked up at once to see white trailing out from the Hōgyoku, wrapping around Aizen... though it jerked to a sudden surprised stop as a blast of light shot through him. Another shinigami had joined the fight, the cane from which the blast came still smoldering from the attack. Words they could not hear were exchanged before Aizen attacked, though the shinigami outsmarted him, capturing the fallen shinigami with a kidou. More binding kidou followed, before the shinigami stepped back, starting to chant.

"What is he...?" Luke began, just as Szayel grabbed him and pulled him back.

_"Get down!"_

In the next moment, a massive explosion went off over their heads, the ground shaking and knocking loose debris from their shelter down onto their heads. Luke clung to his master for dear life, eyes wide in surprise at the power the new shinigami had displayed.

"Master... who was that?"

"Urahara Kitsuki I believe," Szayel hissed, dusting himself off. "The Hōgyoku's creator."

Silence hung in the air as the dust from the explosion drifted in the wind... and then suddenly Aizen – almost entirely covered by that white shell now – was behind Urahara Kitsuki, striking him across the chest with his bare hand. Blood flung out as the shinigami fought to remain upright in the air, quickly collecting himself. Again, words were exchanged, before something sprang to life around Aizen’s wrists and he disappeared in another explosion, forcing Luke and Szayel to hit the dirt again.

"D-dammit, what the hell...?" Luke demanded as the world around them shook.

The flames from the explosion continued to burn for a good few minutes, and Luke could hear the shinigami conversing, but not exactly what they were saying. He got a vague idea when a strange... sense came from the flames. It was Aizen, he could sense that much... but it did not _feel_ like Aizen at the same time. His presence had become so other worldly that he could not even properly perceive it, even as the flames parted and revealed his new form, covered entirely in white. Aizen's gaze flicked about, pausing briefly on Luke and Szayel, before turning away as if they were completely insignificant.

"Master... what is that...?" Luke whispered faintly as Szayel pulled him back safely under their shelter.

"I... don't want to know," Szayel admitted softly.

The battle outside started all over again, but Luke was not very willing to try and take a look again; the explosions, screams, and then the sudden, deafening _silence_ that followed painted a clear image of what was going on. Szayel held onto his shoulder tightly, flinching at the least little fluctuation of reiatsu, as Grimmjow got up and paced a faint growl in the back of his throat. It was not until things had been quiet for a few minutes did the three of them dared to peek out from their hiding spot.

There was not much left of the fake Karakura Town built by the shinigami's Twelfth Division. The people that had shown up before were left in the broken remains of the fabrication, and only Ichigo was left, staring at where there was a Senkaimon Gate left wide open for anyone to enter.

Luke scrambled out of the hiding place first, hurrying over to the shinigami with Szayel and Grimmjow not all that far behind. He called for the boy, but Ichigo barely flinched; and Luke could tell once he finally drew even with him that he was in a state of shock.

"Kurosaki-san...?" he asked, giving his arm a shake. He did not get a chance to say much else, as Grimmjow grabbed him by his shirt, swinging him around and shaking him violently.

"Th' hell you doin' without a scratch on 'ya?!" he demanded. "Why th' hell weren't 'ya there fighting too?!"

Ichigo stared as if he was not sure why Grimmjow was there, or if he really was there. Finally he shook, looking down as his hands trembled at his sides, almost loosing his grip on his zanpakutō.

"How...?" he asked faintly. "How could I have fought against...?"

Grimmjow let go of him, but only because he did not have an extra fist to crack Ichigo across the face with. The boy went flying over, landing in a heap of rubble... but at least that snapped him out of his shock; Ichigo snapped back up right away, looking pissed.

"What the hell, Grimmjow?!"

Luke and Szayel managed to have twin looks of exasperation as Grimmjow stomped over to him, yelling as loud as he could.

"Don't 'what the hell' me!" the Espada bellowed. "No shinigami that beats me has any right to be hanging around like a fuckin' statue while everthin' around him _dies!"_

"How could I have done anything?!" Ichigo yelled back. "That kind of power... it was a struggle just to _breathe_ with his reiatsu! How the hell—"

"Wait, wait!" Luke interrupted, darting between the two of them, especially since Grimmjow looked like he was going to punch him again. "You could actually sense Aizen?"

Ichigo's anger fizzled out, blinking at Luke in confusion. "You couldn't?"

"No," Szayel replied, adjusting his glasses. "Aizen's power has become so far advanced, we – normal mundane beings – cannot perceive it. That would mean, of course, you are the only individual capable of actually fighting against him."

Ichigo looked between the three of them, at a loss for what to even say, before a shuffling sound from behind made him turn. Isshin threw an arm around his son before he could turn all the way, coughing and holding an open wound on his side.

"Dad...!" Ichigo protested, moving to help him down. Isshin would have none of that, keeping a tight grip on his son.

"Move it, Ichigo," he ordered. "We're gonna go protect Karakura Town."

"E-eh—?"

Before Ichigo could continue his protest, his father's forehead came crashing down on his in a head butt hard enough to knock the younger Kurosaki off his feet. Isshin's hand snapped up before that could happen however, grabbing Ichigo by his shirt.

"Didn't you hear me?! I said we're gonna go protect Karakura Town! _Now!"_

"But—!"

"Enough with the 'but this', 'but that'!" Luke protested. "Your dad is right; this is what we have to do now, no matter how powerful Aizen is. We're the last line of defense for all those people!"

"Indeed," Szayel continued, the only one of them that did not look like they were going to punch Ichigo if he tried to protest again. "It's not just going to be your friends and family; every single thing that draws breath and exists will die by Aizen's hand if we sit idly by and do nothing." He paused, folding his hands behind his back. "Can you even _comprehend_ how many lives that is?"

They were all very quiet, staring at Ichigo, who was looking down at his feet. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and raising his head, letting it out in a shuddering whoosh.

"...let's go."

~.oOOo.~

Orihime clung to Ulquiorra as they arrived in the real world, staring in shock at the horrible state that Karakura had been left in. They were too late; Aizen had already destroyed the town and everyone in it. A faint sob escaped from her, drawing the Espada's gaze toward her... and were he anyone else, he probably would have rolled his eyes.

"This isn't Karakura," he announced, drawing a little squeak out of her.

"But... it... and the... and..." she began, before staring at him for a moment. "...it's not?"

Ulquiorra let out a faint snort. "No human reiatsu has ever touched this place."

"Oh..." Orihime began, looking around, before rubbing the back of her neck. "I-I knew that."

Ulquiorra did not say a word as he stepped past her, looking around... and then shifting to the side as a shinigami shouted, diving forward to try to stab him. The Espada let the shinigami fall past him, landing on the ground with an almost comical noise as Orihime hurried over.

"Kira-san!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees. He was hurt, she could see that, and she called her fairies to help him. "What happened?"

"Orihime..." he murmured, glancing at the Espada, before turning back to her. "Aizen... Aizen attacked us all... he's headed to Soul Society, where the real town is. Matsumoto followed after them... I don't know what happened after that."

Orihime's head snapped up to Ulquiorra, fear reflected in her eyes, before she turned back to the Third Division lieutenant. "Kira-san, I need you to open a gate. We need to go help everyone!"

Kira looked between her and the Espada... but after seeing three arrancar pop up out of no where and attack Aizen, he was not about to question it. He reached out to open a Senkaimon Gate... only to have nothing happen. They stood there for an awkward moment, before Kira slowly lowered his hand.

"It seems like I can't while under the influence of your powers," he muttered as Orihime let out an anxious whine.

"Oh... Shun'ō, Ayame, hurry!"

~.oOOo.~

The arrancar were trailing behind the Kurosakis when Isshin suddenly stopped without warning, causing Szayel and Grimmjow to collide into him. The elder Kurosaki hopped forward a bit while the two Espada ended up in a heap on the ground, cursing and punching each other as Luke stopped just in time to keep himself from being added to the pile, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Hold on a moment, Ichigo," Isshin called, causing his son to skid to a stop.

"What?!" the shinigami bellowed. "Aren't we supposed to be hurrying?!"

Isshin glanced behind him, and Luke followed his gaze. There was nothing there, however, and the arrancar turned back to him, giving him a confused look.

"There's nothing following us," he said.

"I know, and that's the problem," Isshin replied. "I can't sense Koutotsu, the guardian of this place. Normally, shinigami can't do anything to it... but Aizen's presence is lingering. Obviously, he did something."

A heavy silence hung between the three of them, interrupted only as Grimmjow let out a snarl, planting his hand on Szayel's face and shoving it into the ground as he stood up.

"S'it bad that thing's gone?" he asked.

"It will be, but for now it works in our favor," Isshin replied as Luke bent down to help Szayel to his feet, the scientist grumbling the whole time. "The Precipice World is separate from the realm of the living and Soul Society, and as such, it is unaffected by time and space. That's why Koutotsu exists; so people will not linger here in this realm."

He paused a moment, a hand settling on this sword as he turned toward his son, his expression stern.

"In here, I'll have the time I need to teach you."

"Teach me what?" Ichigo asked.

Isshin's expression remained grim as he fell silent for a moment, the situation clearly weighing heavily on him.

"...the final Getsuga Tenshou," he announced, before turning to the arrancar. "You three. This will take a long time. You better go on ahead and keep Aizen at bay as best as you can."

"Oh, thank you, you're asking us to kill ourselves," Szayel sneered.

Isshin gave him a stern look, storming over to him… before crashing the hilt of his sword on his forehead. Szayel yowled, crumpling to the floor as Luke let out a tired sigh, bending down to pick him up again.

"Get going! The longer Aizen is delayed, the longer we have in here! _Go!"_

The three of them did not need further prompting, taking off down the path that would lead to Soul Society. Grimmjow was growling under his breath, looking like he wanted to rip something apart if he had access to both hands.

"Th' hell is with those damn idiots?!" he finally demanded. "I swear I'm gonna kill them both!"

"You didn't get your skull crushed by one," Szayel muttered.

"No, I just got my ass smeared around Las Noches by the damn brat, and now he's got twice th' power he had back then, and he ain' usin' it!" Grimmjow snapped back.

Luke was silent as the two of them bickered, his thoughts elsewhere. Ichigo was really powerful, that much was clear... and he could completely understand how he felt. He slowly came to a stop, mouth open to say something...

_"Twei Rei Tsuae Croix Ryo Twei Tsuae..."_

He froze, his head snapping around, staring at the kouryuu current around him. That was... Tear? But how, and where was it coming from? And _why now?_ Luke spun around, trying to locate where it was coming from, when the sludge-like walls suddenly parted to reveal a heavy iron wrought door. If this was not a clue, he really did not know what was; he hesitated a moment, glancing back to where his master and Grimmjow were still bickering, before darting over, placing his hands on the door... and finding himself stumbling straight through.

The path and the walls here were different; older and less used, but the _feel_ of the place... Luke had never had the opportunity to sense Auldrant like this before, but he knew it was home all the same. He took off running down the path, oblivious to the banging that was coming from the other side of the door he fell through.

~.oOOo.~

He had heard from the others that she had built a house at that spot and settled down, but Asch did not really want to believe it until he saw it. The house, if it could be called that, was small and simple; a place that someone _lived_ in, but did not really call home. It was situated so an individual could have the perfect view of the replica Hod, now deteriorated to almost nothing, without disturbing the selenia flowers or the rock that stood in the middle of the small overlook. She was seated on that rock of course, just as Asch imagined she was now doing every night since he had returned and not Luke.

A faint sigh escaped from him, before he approached, stopping just behind her.

"This isn't good for you, Grants."

Tear did not stand from the rock, though she did glance back toward him.

"Asch... why are you here?"

He gave her a bland look, as if the answer was obvious. "Everyone's worried about you. They're worried you're going to die out here, and no one is going to know."

"I'm not going to die out here," Tear replied firmly, giving him a look that clearly said he was supposed to know better than that. "But I know Luke is out there... somewhere. It's just a matter of finding hi—"

_Tear...!_

She broke off as a faint cry echoed in their heads, shooting up from the rock as Asch spun around. That voice... it may have been because they were talking about him, but it was most certainly Luke. Tear shook, disbelieving... before she took a deep breath, clasping her hands before her.

_"Twei Rei Tsuae Croix Ryo Twei Tsuae.  
"Croix Ryo Tsuae Twei Ryo Rei Nevu Ryo Tsuae.  
"Va Rei Zaei Twei Nevu Tsuae Ryo Tsuae Croix.   
"Ryo Rei Croix Ryo Tsuae Rei Va Tsuae Rei.  
"Va Nevu Va Rei Va Nevu Va Tsuae Rei.  
"Croix Ryo Croix Nevu Tsuae Rei Croix Ryo Tsuae Rei Va.  
"Rei Va Nevu Croix Twei Rei Rei."_

Asch looked around, half expecting to see Luke materialize right before their eyes. When nothing happened, however, he let out a sigh, reaching out to pull her away... when suddenly he spotted something strange...

"Tear... Tear, keep singing!"

She did not need much prompting, and repeated the Hymn. As she sang, the something strange started to take a definite shape, forming into a round, wooden sliding door. It took a third time through the song before it was finally finished forming, and a forth before it slowly started to slide opening, revealing a dark world with walls reminiscent of the miasma they had dispelled years ago. For a moment, everything was silent as Tear, forced herself to breathe, anxiously waiting...

...and then there was the sound of pounding footsteps. Luke came into view bare minutes later, and Tear shook, looking like she did not want to believe that she was really seeing him, least it be a cruel trick.

"Tear! Asch!"

That did it. She ran toward the strange door, stopping just before it with Luke only a few feet away...

_ **KTHUNK!** _

Luke ended up sprawled on the ground, dazed and surprised. He scrambled up to his feet bare seconds later, pressing his hands against the exit from the Precipice World, finding his way to Auldrant blocked by an invisible barrier. He groaned loudly, pounding a fist against the shield as Tear let out a soft sound, pressing her hands against it. That made him stop abusing it, pressing his against hers through the clear wall.

"This isn't fair..." he murmured, barely remembering what it was like to speak the Fonic Language.

"Luke..." Tear began, before her gaze drifted down. "Oh my... Luke, what's happened to you?"

He followed her gaze, realizing that she was staring at the hole in his chest. Awkwardly, he covered it with the tattered remains of his jacket, a faint sigh escaping from him as he did so.

"Tear... so much has happened," he answered softly. "I wish I had the time to explain everything, but... I need to go back."

"You're in trouble again, replica?" Asch spoke up, coming to stand behind Tear. Luke flinched at being called a replica, attempting to shoot his original an irate look, but it did not last long. He could not find it in his heart to be mad at him.

"Yeah..." Luke replied softly. "There's a man, Aizen; he has more charisma than Van and is twice as twisted. There's only one person that can stop him, but... he's afraid."

Asch twitched. "Dreck, you—!"

"It's not me!" Luke interrupted before his original could start yelling. "I can't even perceive Aizen right now, he's so powerful. The boy that can fight him... it's not because he's afraid he'll loose, he's afraid he'll win. He's afraid of the power he has. I... I can understand that."

"Luke..." Tear murmured.

Luke shook his head. "All I can do is hold Aizen back until he's ready, but... there's a pretty high chance I won't make it out alive. So... I'm glad I was able to have this chance."

He moved to push away, unable to fight the pained look on his face. Asch let out a faint noise, reaching out to press his hand against the shield. Luke blinked at the gesture, reaching up to meet his hand… and as soon as it was over his original's, he could feel something warm and familiar flow into him. His eyes widened, almost pulling away from him.

"Asch, what—?!"

"Take it, replica," he ordered. "You'll need it more than we will here."

Luke pulled his hand away once Asch was finished, staring down at it like it would bite him. After a moment, he clenched his fist, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you, Asch."

Asch nodded. "Come back alive... Luke."

He paused, eyes widening in surprise, before smiling warmly. "...I will."

There was a faint groan, and the doors of the gate started to close. Luke gave a start, looking back and forth, before shouting to them.

"Soul Society! Try to find any record of Soul Society in Daath! You'll find me there!"

"We will!" Tear called back to him. Luke paused, hesitating as the doors slowly began to close...

"Tear! I... I love you too."

Tear had to fight against a sob, just as the doors closed with a condemning _thud._


	17. Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

They were just children, insignificant to his overall plan, but perhaps useful anyway. As he approached, it was clear they could perceive his immense presence, as the female fell to her knees, gasping for her breath back. The sight brought a smirk to his face, quite amused; pity Kurosaki had forced her to stay out of the conflict. It would have been interesting to see what kind of power she could develop.

"Interesting," Aizen murmured as he stepped closer. "Even after getting this close to you, you can still maintain your existences, if barely."

The girl raised her head, glaring daggers at him. "W-who are you...?" she gasped out.

Aizen did not answer, merely raising his sword. "Kurosaki Ichigo will come here, accompanied by a new power," he said. "I wish to push that power closer to perfection; your deaths should suffice in accomplishing that."

"Ichigo..." she murmured under his breath, staring at the point of his blade, before snapping her head back to the boy behind her. "Run, Asano!" she yelled, her voice rising when he just stared at her. "Hurry up and go! What the hell can you do by staying here?!"

The boy scrambled to his feet, and darted down an alleyway, burdened by another girl on his back. It did not matter; the maimed body of just one of Kurosaki's dear friends would be more than enough. Her eyes widened as he raised his sword to deal the first strike, frozen in place by the sheer weight of his power...

Then suddenly, with a burst of static, she was gone. Aizen's eyes narrowed, following the trail of her presence up to a rooftop, where he caught sight of a flash of red hair, before a barrage of bala and cero drew his attention away. He let out a tired sigh, not even reacting to the futile attack as he turned, forcing out all of his spiritual power at once and redirecting the attack back to its owner. Szayel let out an alarmed noise, bringing his remaining wings around himself quickly, though he still got clipped by a few blasts.

He whipped his wings back open a moment later, but Aizen had moved in the briefest of seconds, standing right before him. The scientist did not even have time to react as his blade came down, relieving him of another wing and giving him yet another future scar over his chest. He let out a gagging sound as blood poured from the wound, stumbling back, before sonído brought him a relatively safe distance away.

"I tire of playing with you, Szayel Aporro," Aizen said lazily. "You have long outlived your usefulness."

A snarl came from behind him, and Grimmjow was barreling toward him in that moment, claws raised to slash through Aizen's face. He merely sidestepped, though the motion was so fast that it looked more like the arrancar had fallen _through_ Aizen rather than miss him. Grimmjow landed head first, rolling up to his feet.

"Why do you continue this?" Aizen asked, genuinely curious. "Do you seek redemption for following me? Do you seek to avenge your fallen comrades?"

A sneer spread Grimmjow's face wide. "Nope, just lettin' 'ya think that's what we want."

Aizen gave him a bland look, before a familiar charge of that strange reiatsu that Luke emitted drew his attention away. The arrancar was in the air above him, and let loose a blade of hyperresonance at him, forcing him to escape the blast. Luke landed on the ground, but spun around right away just in time to catch Aizen's sword on his own.

"Hmph, such a deception might have worked on anyone _else,"_ he sneered, shoving Luke hard, sending him tumbling end over end down the street.

Luke returned the sneer with one of his own, glasses glinting. "Who says I don't have you right where I want you?"

The arrancar skidded on his feet, leaving trails behind on the pavement, before dashing back toward him... and that was when Aizen noticed the boy's sword was different. A rose-colored jewel had been placed at the base of the sword, in the middle of the two blades, and was causing the weapon to radiate more of that strange presence that came from Luke's power. His interest was piqued, though that quickly turned to surprise as an explosion of power suddenly surrounded the both of them, cutting into him.

"Arise, resound, and become the blade of destruction!" Luke exclaimed, each word accompanied by the slash of a Seventh Fonon-enhanced sword. He jumped back, raising the Sword of Lorelei over his head, before bringing it back down for one final blast. _"Lost Fon Drive!"_

The explosion engulfed Aizen, and they could hear him screaming in pain. Luke backed away, breathing heavily from the use of a power he had only had to use once before, not sure if that had been enough to deal with Aizen. After a moment passed without the mad want to be god, however, he turned to attend to his master...

"Luke!"

Luke spun around, just in time to have his face grabbed by vice-like fingers. He let out a pained noise, just as Aizen shot off a blast toward Grimmjow and Szayel. Luke could not see what happened, but he heard their cries of pain before everything fell deathly silent. A sob was the only thing he could manage in response, and it drew an amused sneer from Aizen.

"Was that your best attack?" he asked. "Was that your final hope of defeating me?"

Even if Luke could have answered, he did not have the time to. Over Aizen's shoulder, he could see Gin suddenly appear, the usual fox smile on his face, though it seemed... different somehow.

"I've returned, _Captain_ Aizen," he announced.

Aizen paused, the fingers loosening somewhat as he glanced over his shoulder at Gin. A moment passed, a rather tense one where it seemed like Aizen was not going to say anything, before he finally spoke.

"What happened to Matsumoto?"

"I killed her."

The answer came so easily, that Aizen had to pause a moment, slight surprise flashing across his face for a brief moment. He glanced away, searching… before an amused smile came to his face.

"Indeed, her reiatsu has disappeared," he murmured. "I am surprised, Gin. I imagined that you carried a bit of emotion toward that one."

"Emotions?" Gin replied, the fox smile widening. "Nope, I got nothin' like that. I told you when we first met, didn't I? I'm a snake, with cold skin, no emotions, that slithers around, looking for prey with its tongue... and gobbling up anything that looks tasty. That's the kind of creature I am."

He moved past Aizen, past Luke... and Luke could sense something strange from Gin... his mannerisms, the way he was talking. It did not sound anything like the usually hard to read fox that he had been accustomed to dealing with. If anything, he seemed like a different person entirely... Luke let out an irritated noise, not sure what the hell was going on, but not willing to stick around for it. He kicked at Aizen, trying to get loose from the deadly fingers holding onto him. He might as well have been kicking at a brick wall, for all the good it was doing him.

Aizen turned his attention to him again, as if remembering he was there. "Ah, yes. I think I grow tired of these little games."

"What'll we do after you kill him?" Gin asked, sounding amused.

"He is an arrancar now, just like his pathetic master. He'll only turn to dust; not very useful even as a corpse," Aizen replied sadly. "However, Kurosaki's companions are lurking somewhere nearby. We will pursue them and hang their corpses outside of town... before beginning the construction of the King's Key."

Aizen drew his sword, and Luke’s eyes widened, kicking and screaming as best he could with the hand over his face. Before he could use it, however, Gin reached out, placing his hand on the blade.

"Sounds good!" he exclaimed. "If that's the case, why waste time? I'll kill the kids."

Aizen narrowed his eyes. "Gin—"

He did not get much farther than that. With his hand still on Aizen's sword, Gin turned slightly... and then all of a sudden something was shooting out from under his arm, stabbing Aizen through the chest. The former shinigami dropped Luke in surprise, and the boy could only lie in the heap he landed in, staring in wide eyed shock at Gin's elongated sword sticking out of Aizen's back.

"The only way to get past Kyouka Suigetsu's ability is to be touching the blade before complete hypnosis activates," Gin began, sounding almost solemn. "Just how many decades did it take before I could hear that single sentence from you?"

Gin's blade retracted back to its normal size as Aizen narrowed his eyes.

"Not a single person in the Gotei Thirteen or out of your arrancar knew that, but they still fought you with everything they had. It was kinda amusin' seeing them try so hard... since the only one capable of killing _Captain Aizen,_ is _me!"_

As if to emphasize the point, blood suddenly started to pour from the wound Gin had inflicted, much to Aizen's shock. He backed away, clutching at the wound as it continued to bleed excessively.

"I knew it..." he gasped in pain. "I brought you here, knowing what you intended. I wanted to see how you would accomplish it. But how unfortunate that you think this little strike can—"

Gin held up a finger, cutting him off. "Nope, I don't," he said, before holding up his blade... where there was just the faintest of slivers missing from the middle of the blade. "D'ya see this tiny crack here, Captain Aizen? The missin' piece is inside of you right now."

"What...?" Aizen hissed.

"I told 'ya about what my Bankai could do, didn't I?" Gin asked. "Sorry, but that was a lie. It doesn't expand that far or move that fast; it does that on its own. What it does do, is turn to dust for a brief moment while extending and contracting, and on the interior of the blade, a poison that breaks down cells is secreted."

Aizen's eyes widened, especially as he realized that the wound Gin had inflicted was not healing like every other injury that had been inflicted on him so far. He clutched at his chest, already feeling pieces of it starting to break away.

"Seems like 'ya get it," Gin replied. "Though 'ya should, since that sliver I left in your heart is workin' on 'ya fast."

_"Gin...!"_ Aizen snarled.

Gin, however, merely reached up, pressing his hand over where the Hōgyoku was embedded in Aizen's chest.

"Talk fast, Captain Aizen, if 'ya really wanna talk,” he sneered. "'Ya don't have much time before the end.

_"Kill, Kamishini no Yari!"_

Aizen's chest started to break apart, blood flying everywhere as the massive cellular degeneration worked away at his heart, his chest, and his shoulder. The former captain let out a gagging noise as Gin's fingers closed around the Hōgyoku, ripping it out of his chest as Aizen fell, blood flying everywhere.

"Looks like 'ya get your long cherished ambition: dying with a hole in 'yer chest."

Everything fell quiet, only interrupted by the sound of Aizen's body hitting the ground, blood splattering around them. Luke let out a faint noise as the liquid landed on him, and Gin turned to him, as if realizing for the first time he was there.

"Yo, how 'ya feelin’?" he asked, back to his usual cheerful self. Luke could only stare at him, at a loss for how to even respond...

And then Aizen's corpse suddenly started screaming, waves of spiritual power radiating from him. Gin reached down, grabbing Luke by his arm and dragging him along with him. Luke stumbled after, finally getting a hold of himself just as the two of them ducked around a building. Hesitantly, they both turned, to see a blast of light shooting out from Aizen's chest. The light suddenly parted... and there was Aizen, multiple butterfly-like wings shooting out of his back, an impossible power radiating out from him. Luke let out an alarmed noise, gasping in pain as it crashed down around them both. He fell to his knees as Gin staggered, fighting to remain upright.

"This is my victory, Gin," Aizen's began, his voice echoing in their heads. "Even if the Hōgyoku is not within me, it is sill mine."

Gin's attention snapped to the Hōgyoku in his hands... only to see that it had turned pure white. Before he even had a chance to figure out what had happened to it, Aizen was there, his hand raised...

_"G-Gin-sama!"_ Luke yelled, flinging his hands out without thinking... and Aizen's hand struck against a barrier, shattering it instantly. There was an awkward moment, where all three of them had no idea what happened, before the voice of another brought the situation back into focus.

_"Lanza del Relámpago."_

A bolt of lightening hit Aizen point blank in the face, making him stagger for a moment. A clawed, fur covered hand came out of nowhere in the next moment, grabbing him by the side of his face and slamming him through a building, giving Gin and Luke the opportunity to escape from their spot.

"Fabre-kun!" Orihime exclaimed, running over to them as her fairies used to create her shield returned to her. She skidded to a stop when she saw Gin, but he did not let her get far, grabbing her hand and dropping the Hōgyoku in it.

"Now would be a good time 'ta get rid of it," Gin said, before there was a loud snap, and Ulquiorra went flying past the three of them. _"Quickly."_

Orihime let out an alarmed noise, reaching up to call her fairies, when the Hōgyoku started to glow brightly, burning her hand. She let out a yelp of pain, dropping it on the ground, where it actually burned the pavement. It rolled along the ground for a moment, before shooting up, planting itself back into Aizen's chest, where it turned black once more.

"Fear is necessary for evolution: the fear that one can be annihilated at any moment," Aizen intoned. "Thank you, Gin; because of your efforts, I have risen to a level that surpasses shinigami and hollow."

The explosion that went off next was one that none of them could prepare for. In the next instant, buildings around them disintegrated and bodies went flying amongst the dust. It was not until everything fell completely skill did Luke find himself able to move, shaking as he forced himself to sit up. He was covered in blood, and judging from the destruction left around him, he was not entirely sure if it was all his. Gin was nearby, lying deathly still amongst the rubble, and Ulquiorra was stirring some where away, having flung himself around Orihime to protect her at the last moment.

Luke's ears were ringing, and he staggered up to his feet, trying to make sense of what the hell just happened, when a shadow fell over him. He felts his heart stop as he looked up, finding himself face to face with the cold, death eyes that Aizen now possessed. He raised his sword in a knowingly futile effort, and the mad god’s sword clanged against it, shaking Luke's arm so much that he had to drop his weapon. He shook as the Sword of Lorelei landed on the ground, watching helplessly as Aizen reached for him, grabbing his head again, a cruel smile coming to his face as he slowly squeezed. Luke let out a helpless noise, feeling blood dripping out from under Aizen's fingers...

"Such a pity," Aizen said softly. "I would have enjoyed seeing you realize your powers..."

Luke closed his eyes, waiting for the moment before his head was crushed... and then everything stopped. His eyes flew open; Aizen was still holding him, but his attention was off to the side...

...where Kurosaki Ichigo was standing amongst the rubble.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Everything had fallen deathly quiet with Ichigo's arrival, to the point where it almost seemed like no one was breathing. None have them would have even noticed he was there if Aizen had not stopped, mostly because they could not _sense_ anything from him; it was like he had no spiritual presence whatsoever. Luke's breath shook as he stared at Ichigo, not sure if his arrival was good or not. Just what kind of training had the shinigami's father put him through...?

Ichigo glanced at Ulquiorra and Orihime, Gin, Luke, and then off in the distance; first to where his friends were hiding where Luke had brought them, and then further into the city. He finally spoke then, letting out a soft breath of relief.

"Good, everyone is still safe," he murmured, before turning his focus on Aizen. "Let him go, Aizen."

Aizen's fingers twitched, but he did not let go of Luke. "Kurosaki Ichigo..." he began, sounding genuinely confused. "Are you really Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but his expression otherwise remained solemn and serious. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if you really are Kurosaki Ichigo, then I am disappointed," Aizen replied. "I don't sense a modicum of reiatsu from you. Even if you were suppressing it, it is impossible to feel _nothing._ You have failed at that last chance of evolution that I granted you. How unfortunate, Kuro—"

"Aizen," Ichigo began, taking a glance around again. "Let him go, and let's change our location. I don't want to fight here."

Aizen snorted, squeezing Luke’s head tighter and drawing a cry of pain from him. "A pointless proposal; those are words only a being capable of fighting me can say. You couldn't possibly do any damage to—"

Once again, Ichigo interrupted Aizen, although this time was much more direct. The orange haired teen was suddenly right in front of him, his hand planted on his face, and next thing Luke knew, he was on a heap in the ground again as the two of them went soaring out of Karakura Town.

Luke lay amongst the rubble, dazed and not entirely sure what just happened, his eyes following the black and white streak that was Ichigo and Aizen. A moment later, the headache struck, reminding him that he had been mere seconds away from having his head crushed. He groaned, curling up on himself as he heard the rubble shift and felt Orihime's hands on him a moment later.

"Don't worry about me," he gasped out over the pain. "If Aizen's still regenerating, someone's gonna need to get rid of the Hōgyoku so Kurosaki-san can finish him off. Hurry!"

He could feel Orihime hesitate a moment, before she stepped away, calling for Ulquiorra; and in the next moment the two of them were flying off after Ichigo and Aizen. Luke groaned softly in relief, rolling over onto his back, before glancing over to where Gin was still lying. The shinigami had woken sometime in that insanity and his head turned weakly to Luke, the fox smile creeping onto his face.

"That kid's... got strong eyes now..." he murmured. "This'll be over quick."

"Heh... yeah," Luke replied, before letting his eyes fall close and unconsciousness claim him.

~.oOOo.~

The rumbles of power coming from before them were so great even from this distance, that Orihime almost begged Ulquiorra to fly back to Karakura Town. As much as she wanted to, however, she knew they could not do that right now, even as a mountain of earth suddenly appeared before them. Neither of them could sense Ichigo, but they could still sense Aizen, even if his presence was difficult to perceive, and the former shinigami did _not_ seem happy.

The two of them hovered over the battle, just in time to see a Black Coffin enclose around Ichigo. The kidou shattered like glass soon after, however, leaving the boy unharmed. Orihime clung to Ulquiorra as she looked down, at a loss.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked. "If we get anywhere close to that, we could die."

For a moment, Ichigo glanced up at the two of them… before he was suddenly in front of Aizen, his sword slicing through his chest like he was made of paper. The Hōgyoku sprung free, and Ichigo caught it, before tossing it straight up. Ulquiorra's hand snapped out to catch it a split second before it sailed past them, flinching for the briefest of seconds as the thing burned in his hand. Aizen's head snapped up, eyes widening, and he moved to intercept them, but Ichigo cut him off immediately, beating him back down onto the ground.

"Get rid of it, Inoue!"

Orihime unwound an arm from around Ulquiorra's neck, calling on her power. "Sōten Kisshun! I reject!"

The healing barrier appeared around the Hōgyoku, and it instantly sparked angrily, fighting against the power of rejection. Ulquiorra hissed faintly as Orihime yelped.

"E-everyone! Help them, please!"

Her hair clips broke apart as the other three fairies behind her power came out, adding their strength to the other two. The Hōgyoku continued to spark angrily in Ulquiorra's hand, lost souls spilling from the black orb. The arrancar's arm tightened around Orihime, but other than that, he refused to show this was hurting him in any way other than the occasional hiss.

_"NO!"_ Aizen bellowed, though it was easy to ignore him as Ichigo beat him into the ground again.

Suddenly, there was a deafening crack as the Hōgyoku split in half, and Ulquiorra was forced to drop it as it nearly burned straight through his hand despite his hierro. Souls continued to stream out of it, yowling in pain as they shot off to all corners of Soul Society and the sphere crumbled; by the time it reached the ground, it was no more than dust.

Silence hung in the air, interrupted only as Aizen started to laugh, low at first, before ascending to an insane pitch.

"It doesn't matter!" he bellowed. "Even without the Hōgyoku, I am still more powerful than you pathetic creatures!"

A third eye suddenly opened up on Aizen's forehead, spraying blood everywhere as his entire body cracked in half like an egg shell. Beneath was a gruesome black face with red slits for eyes and a wide, lip-less mouth showing off razor sharp teeth. The halves of Aizen's previous form remained attached to him, fused to his butterfly wings, but split into threes, forming smaller white heads similar to the main body, only without eyes. The wings elongated into thick, writhing tendrils that whipped about in sequence with the white bobbing heads.

_"Even without the Hōgyoku, I will not be bested by a mere human!"_

Each head opened wide, a cero burning brightly as Aizen charged it, before letting loose on Ichigo all at once. The resulting explosion was blinding, the force of it knocking Ulquiorra out of the sky and shaking the entirety of Soul Society. Orihime let out an alarmed cry as they fell, the sound of them crashing into a tree unheard over Aizen's roar of triumph.

The explosion died down, leaving Kurosaki still standing with his left arm raised, the limb scorched from blocking the massive attack. Aizen leered over him, all seven mouths spread open in an insidious grin. In the next moment he charged, smashing into Ichigo, seemingly knocking him unconscious. One clawed hand grasped him by the throat before he could fall as his mouths opened again, creating a binding ring around the shinigami to keep him inches away from death.

_"Can you hear me, Kurosaki Ichigo?"_ Aizen asked, his voice echoing around them. _"It is true that at one point you succeeded in breaking the barrier between shinigami and hollow; that you ascended to the level of a transcendental. But you have lost that power you once possessed, becoming a mere shell of what you were meant to be. You are not even worth the effort it will take for my transcendental hand to crush your throat, but you will have that honor anyway, and your death will invoke the complete separation of the vulgar existences of shinigami and hollow._

_"You are finished, Kurosaki Ichigo!"_

Aizen's hand started to close around Ichigo's throat. Somewhere from the tree they landed in, Orihime screamed for the shinigami, but she went ignored. Aizen was more preoccupied with the fact that he could not close his hand any tighter than it already was.

"...finished?" Ichigo suddenly asked, lifting his head to reveal that he had been conscious the entire time. "Is that all you've got?"

His sword arm suddenly came up, slicing Aizen's arm clean off. Aizen backed away, staring down at the stump in mute surprise, before back at Ichigo who, other than his tattered clothes and burnt arm, remained relatively unharmed.

"I'm tired of your crap, Aizen," he stated. "Let's put an end to this... let me show you the Final Getsuga Tenshou."

Ichigo raised his sword, black flame pouring out of the blade as it slowly melted onto him. Where the flames touched, his form changed; dark wrappings snaked over his body as his hair grew, turning jet black. Aizen stared as, spiritually, Ichigo remained unchanged; he was still completely devoid of any kind of spiritual pressure.

_"What...?"_

"This is when I become Getsuga," Ichigo replied simply, the black flames continuing to burn and flicker around him. "If I use this technique, I will loose all of my power. That's why it's called 'final'."

This was not supposed to be something that was physically possible. By evolving differently from normal creatures, a transcendental like Aizen had become should have been untouchable, but Ichigo had been throwing him around the ground like he was the one that was an ordinary human. Could it be that he had somehow _surpassed_ him?

Impossible, impossible, impossible, _impossible!_

_"How can this be?!"_ Aizen bellowed. _"How can a mere human surpass me?!"_

Ichigo answered by holding out his hand, and the flames converged, reforming into his sword. Aizen could only stare as he raised it, the blade seeming to glow as a power he could not even sense converged upon it...

_"Mugetsu."_

From their tree, all Orihime and Ulquiorra could see was a massive wall of black flame springing up from Ichigo and nothing else; there was no spiritual pressure from the attack, no cries of pain, nothing – just the snapping of flames and a deathly _silence_ as it vanished. Only Ichigo stood at his place in the air, gently floating back to the ground, to where Aizen's body had fallen. He hovered above him as the former shinigami lay there, gasping for breath and unable to move. It was a very long moment before Ichigo spoke.

"I understand you, Aizen," he said softly. "Koukya Sugetsu told me as we fought... that you always stood above others, that no one could understand just what kind of person you were. All you wanted to be was normal. That's all I've ever wanted too."

Aizen just stared at him, though he let out a faint noise that might have been a laugh. Ichigo closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"I release you, Aizen. Thank you."

For a moment, neither of them moved... and then Aizen smiled, before his eyes grew distant, unable to see anything anymore. Ichigo remained standing over what was left of him, the man that had been responsible for everything in his crazy life, before there was a sudden loud _snap,_ and the form he had taken on suddenly melted off of him and disappeared in the wind. His eyes widened in surprise and pain from the dramatic change, before he tumbled to his knees beside Aizen's body.

_"Kurosaki-kun!"_

He looked up at Orihime's shout, watching as she ran to him, with Ulquiorra not all that far behind her at a much more subdued pace. As he stared, however, the arrancar's form became blurred and faded: his powers were already starting to degenerate. Orihime got to him first, moving to use her healing abilities on him, but he held up a hand, grasping both of hers.

"Don't, Inoue," he murmured. "There's no point."

He paused, looking up to where he could just make out Ulquiorra's face now. "Ulquiorra... you've got to take care of Inoue now."

Ulquiorra raised a curious eyebrow, but did not comment, even as Ichigo fell forward when unconsciousness finally claimed him.


	19. Epilogue: Luke's Letter

EPILOGUE – LUKE'S LETTER

_...and that is everything that has happened  
from the point I left Auldrant to just after I  
saw you. I know it sounds like Aizen is gone  
for good, but it’s not quite like that; his body  
is still alive. Urahara believes that the  
immense power he obtained is the only thing  
keeping it alive, but Aizen himself has passed  
on. We’re keeping the body locked up in the  
Twelfth Division vault – we’re not really sure  
what else to do with it other than keep it away  
from anyone that could possibly use it._

It was a rare day off for Luke fon Fabre; in the days since Aizen's defeat, so much had happened that such moments where he could find some peace for himself were few and far between, and even more rare when he had these moments while having some energy left. He paused his letter for a moment, gazing out at the endless expanse of grass before him as he pondered on how to continue it. There was still so much to say, but where to start?

_Since the end of the war, the arrancar have  
been permitted to reside in Soul Society if they  
wished. With the only three surviving Espada  
taking them up on the offer, most of the arrancar  
accepted. Still, there were those that chose not  
to come here, and instead fled to the Forest of  
Menos beneath Hueco Mundo, where they could hide  
from those on the surface that would hold a grudge  
against Aizen's "Join us or die" stance._

_Still, we seem to have settled in well enough.  
Szayel Aporro and I naturally fell under the care  
of the Twelfth Division, and it's been... interesting._

~.oOOo.~

Luke poked his head into the room first, before pushing the sliding wooden door all the way open and bolting straight in. Szayel followed him at a much more leisurely pace, hiding his amusement as Luke dive bombed onto his own bed. Their quarters were much more spacious than he anticipated, given the ancient look of Soul Society, not to mention more accommodating that he imagined as well. There had to be some kind of catch...

"They brought all our stuff over already!" he exclaimed, snuggling up around his pillow and breaking Szayel's train of thought.

"Yes, Luke," Szayel replied dryly, rolling his eyes as the other arrancar bounced back up. "So wonderful to see our modern furniture clash with the primitive surroundings."

"Don't be such a spoil sport, master..." Luke grumbled, opening up the doors on the other end of the room, to reveal they looked out upon a small garden with a large lake. He laid down on his stomach on the deck, dangling his legs back and forth in the air as he gazed out at the view... before he glanced down at the step, spying a white and black package.

"Hey, master..." he said, picking up the package and bringing it inside. "Someone left us a house warming gift."

House warming gift... probably a gift that would literally warm the house, given their reputation. Szayel held his hand out for it.

"Give it here."

Luke handed it over immediately, and Szayel carefully pealed off the wrapping, opening the box beneath.. only to have a wall of smoke hit him in the face. He jerked back immediately as a burst of static came from the redhead – there was no way he was sticking close enough to inhale whatever blew up on his master's face, no matter how much he respected the man!

"Master, are you all right?!"

Szayel let out a sharp cough, before he spoke. "Who is re—?"

He cut himself off immediately, eyes widening as his voice came out the same pitch of a chipmunk.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he squeaked. All Luke could do was stare... before he wrapped an arm around his stomach, doubling over in hysterics. _"Stop laughing, Luke!"_

That did not help; Luke had to plant a hand against the wall to keep himself from falling over. Szayel glared daggers at his experiment, promising him a quick trip to his examination table, before he looked into the still smoking box, spotting a small letter that had been left inside.

_A heartfelt welcome to the new assistants  
of the Twelfth Division; enjoy this gift as  
much as the rest of us will._

_With sincere love,  
the REAL scientist_

Szayel squealed loudly as he crushed the note in his hands.

_"Kurotsuchi Mayuri! I will end you!"_

~.oOOo.~

_...very interesting._

_Ulquiorra stops by the Twelfth often, even  
though he's under the supervision of the Sixth.  
He's agreed to assist us with the creation of  
an artificial body that arrancar can inhabit,  
so that we may be able to go on missions in the  
human world as well. He doesn't tell us where  
he goes when he goes out on test runs, though  
we all can guess..._

~.oOOo.~

"Ulquiorra, you really don't need to do this..."

The former Espada remained silent as he walked beside Orihime, ignoring the stares the two of them were getting amongst all the human produce. Sadly, the bug where the gigai would take on the more glaring features of the arrancar inhabiting it was still not fixed; his skin was a bit more toned than usual, but still near white. At least they had managed to keep his mask from randomly appearing and disappearing – that had been awkward and difficult to explain – but still the fact that he looked like a walking corpse was drawing an uncomfortable amount of staring for Orihime at least. Ulquiorra himself, as usual, could not really care less.

Orihime shifted unsteadily at the lack of response, uneasy. "S-still, I appreciate it! Really!" she added, still to no response.

She sighed, before stopping her cart, going to go for a large package of bottled water. That was when Ulquiorra decided to move, carefully pushing her aside and picking up the massive twenty-four pack... one handed. As usual, the arrancar ignored the stares he was receiving as he effortlessly moved the large pack from the shelf to the cart, oblivious to the fact that Orihime was hiding her face in her hands.

It looked like this was another grocery store she would not be able to come to again.

~.oOOo.~

_As for Grimmjow, he was taken in by the  
Eleventh Division. They're right up his  
ally, seeing as they're all obsessive  
fighters, but... well, he has his work cut  
out for him._

~.oOOo.~

There was a loud _snap,_ and Grimmjow went flying across the ring for what had to be the millionth time that morning. He struggled up to his feet, his left arm bent at an odd angle – _again_ with that arm! Did everyone target the damn thing on purpose?! A growl escaped from him as he snapped his head to the side, spitting out blood as his opponent loomed over him, nameless sword slung casually over his shoulder.

"What? Is that it?" Kenpachi, captain of the Eleventh, asked, almost sounding bored. "And 'ya actually gave Ichigo a run for his money?"

Grimmjow snarled at the mention of that name, charging head first at the massive and muscle bound captain. Kenpachi just stepped aside, lifting his foot to deliver an undignified punt to the arrancar's rear end, sending him tumbling over face first again. He bent over the former Espada as he cursed on the ground, pounding his good fist in irritation.

"'Ya wanna have a chance of goin' against Ichigo again?" Kenpachi asked. "'Ya ain't gonna get far if your just flailing around me."

The hair on the back of Grimmjow's neck stood on end; his spat with Ichigo was not over yet. The kid had given him a hell of a time, beating him within an inch of death at Las Noches, and then lost all of his powers before he could get a rematch. Like hell he was going to let him get away with that; he was going to get more powerful, and then he was going to beat Ichigo's powers back into him before giving him the pounding he deserved.

A snarl escaped from Grimmjow as he grabbed for his sword, lashing around to clang loudly against Kenpachi's own blade. The captain grinned broadly, a faint chuckle escaping from him.

"That's better..."

~.oOOo.~

_It hasn't been all fun and games, however.  
Just today we had the last of the send off  
ceremonies for those that died during the  
battle. Today we laid the Captain Commander  
of the Gotei 13 to rest. No one's really sure  
who is qualified enough to fill his shoes, and  
we won't find out for some time. Such an  
appointment is not just made by the Central 46,  
but also needs to be approved by the Spirit King._

_Everyone's worried; the captains are not sure of  
what a future without Captain Genryūsai will be  
like..._

~.oOOo.~

The remaining nine captains as well as the surviving lieutenants surrounded the platform that Yamamoto Genryūsai's still form laid on, surrounded by dry hay and flowers. Spread out around them was all the other shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen, as well as the most influential and wealthy families of the Seireitei. The First Division lieutenant stepped forward after a long moment of silence, setting the pyre on fire. Smoke billowed up into the air as the former captain commander was given a hero’s send off the elderly man deserved. Silenced reigned over the funeral, before people started trickling off one by one.

The captains and lieutenants were some of the last to leave, though Eight and Thirteenth Division captains Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake remained behind, still silent in each other's company.

~.oOOo.~

_Gin was the closest to Aizen's blast, but he  
still managed to survive... somehow. He's a tough  
snake to destroy, though he was still very badly  
injured. The Central 46 don't really know what to  
do with him, though; everything he did was so he  
could stop Aizen, but he still did those things.  
He's been denied his captain's position, and kept  
under house arrest._

_Despite that? I don't think he's going to complain._

~.oOOo.~

Matsumoto peered in on Gin's room, a faint smile coming to her face as she saw he was asleep. He had been doing that often since surviving Aizen's fury, yet she could not bring it in her to be worried or upset about it. He had risked everything, even made it seem like he killed her, just to make sure he could have that one chance to use Aizen's one weakness against him. Even though he failed, she adored him all the same.

She slipped inside, settling beside him and sitting down by his bed side, slipping her hand in his. Yes... she adored him enough to retire from her position. He had looked after her all this time, now it was her turn to do the same for him.

~.oOOo.~

_As for Kurosaki Ichigo, he has completely lost  
all of his powers, including those that he had  
before becoming a shinigami. No one really knows  
if this has happened before, or if his powers will  
ever return, but... it's really hurting Rukia..._

~.oOOo.~

_"IIIIIIIICHIIIIIGOOOOOO!!!"_

Keigo Asano went barreling toward Ichigo just as he had done every day for the past few months she had been watching over him. Just as he had always done, Ichigo answered his friend's charge with a clothes line that turned into a headlock. Asano flailed, tapping against the other boy's arm frantically, but he had been distracted by another friend, forgetting he was blocking Keigo's airway.

Even though she had seen it almost every day, the sight brought a smile to Rukia's face. It was only fair, after everything that had happened, everything that was started with her mistake, that Ichigo could have a normal life.

Of course, that did not mean she would not be miserable.

~.oOOo.~

_As for myself, I've still been searching for  
the portal that led to Auldrant, but it hasn't  
opened for me again. I don't even know if you  
will ever get a chance to read this, but I will  
release this into the walls of the Precipice  
World; it's worth a try. I will not ever give up  
looking until I'm with you and the others again._

_With all my heart,  
Luke_

~.oOOo.~

Nothing had disturbed him for thousands of years, trapped as he was between time and space, yet all of a sudden he found himself presented with a bottle and a letter within. With a wave of a hand, the letter floated out on its own, unraveling for him so that he could look over its contents. A slow, cruel smile spread across his face, all four of his arms flexing in anticipation.

_"The way home has been open."_

~.oO The End...? Oo.~


End file.
